Fiera Capital Corp Raises Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 10.9%, owning 3,204 shares worth approximately $14.76 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Booking Holdings reported $55.40 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates of $50.32 and reflecting a 16% increase in year-over-year revenue.
• Approximately 92.42% of Booking's stock is now held by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,204 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp's holdings in Booking were worth $14,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BKNG. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Finally, North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at $46,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Wall Street Zen raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,781.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded down $117.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5,386.29. 199,536 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 184,546. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5,567.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $5,070.33. The company has a market cap of $174.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $41.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

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.