Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd grew its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 29.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 865 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Booking were worth $3,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Booking

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 transaction of $5,425,698.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 27,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on BKNG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $5,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,388.37.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded up $97.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5,693.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 297,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,126. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $5,274.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,954.74. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,711.48. The stock has a market cap of $185.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.