KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Raises Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,013 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Booking were worth $69,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Booking by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in Booking by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 195 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded down $86.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $5,650.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 168,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,237. The company has a market cap of $183.85 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5,531.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5,037.81. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 posted $20.39 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $151,674,935. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Booking from $4,692.00 to $5,411.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,454.26.

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.