Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. Trims Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 57.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,561 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,423 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises about 1.9% of Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Booking were worth $11,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Booking by 27.3% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,054,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $994,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,388.37.

Booking Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $3.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $5,485.35. The stock had a trading volume of 177,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,725. The company has a market capitalization of $178.49 billion, a PE ratio of 34.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,231.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,950.49. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,639.70.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Booking

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.