Novem Group Raises Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Novem Group grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 62.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Novem Group's holdings in Booking were worth $563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,722.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5,361.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,970.88. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,799.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $20.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were 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 directly owned 27,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,073,911.22. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" 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 note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,388.37.

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.

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