Vanderbilt University Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Vanderbilt University acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,210 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,574,000. Booking makes up about 1.1% of Vanderbilt University's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 521,609.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,887,718,000 after buying an additional 2,362,892 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 621,874.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,295,423,000 after buying an additional 864,406 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $1,958,352,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Booking by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 280,629 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,394,283,000 after buying an additional 95,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Booking by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,831,499,000 after buying an additional 58,357 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,073,911.22. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG traded up $17.77 on Friday, hitting $5,304.03. 441,919 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,618. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,639.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5,180.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,947.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 22.58% and a negative return on equity of 143.67%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $20.39 earnings per share. Booking's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect 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 dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,388.37.

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.