Yacktman Asset Management LP Sells 1,017 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Yacktman Asset Management LP lowered its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 47.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,142 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,017 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP's holdings in Booking were worth $5,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 27.3% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,054,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,495,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $994,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,043,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total transaction of $5,425,698.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,073,911.22. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,415.00.

Booking Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of BKNG traded down $45.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $5,668.04. The company had a trading volume of 185,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,587. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The company's 50 day moving average price is $5,414.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $4,985.44. The stock has a market cap of $184.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.58% and a negative return on equity of 143.67%. Booking's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $20.39 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.89%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.