Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Yacktman Asset Management LP lowered its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 47.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the 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 quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Booking by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP raised its holdings in Booking by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 12 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 49 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,713.33 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $5,414.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $4,985.44. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. Booking's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $20.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total value of $5,425,698.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,646 shares in the company, valued at $148,073,911.22. This represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BKNG. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,415.00.

Booking 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.

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