Bender Robert & Associates Grows Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Bender Robert & Associates boosted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,879 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up about 2.2% of Bender Robert & Associates' holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Bender Robert & Associates' holdings in Booking were worth $8,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 521,609.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,887,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362,892 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 803,125 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,986,244,000 after purchasing an additional 6,009 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $1,958,352,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Booking by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,831,499,000 after purchasing an additional 58,357 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $14.79 during trading on Thursday, hitting $5,286.26. 181,011 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 247,699. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5,149.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,946.21. The company has a market cap of $172.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,639.70.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. The business 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $20.39 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking's payout ratio is 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark lifted their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities raised their price target on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,388.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.