River Global Investors LLP Has $8.88 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

River Global Investors LLP lowered its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,506 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 1.7% of River Global Investors LLP's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. River Global Investors LLP's holdings in Booking were worth $8,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Booking by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its holdings in Booking by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in Booking by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Booking by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in Booking by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 164 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $104.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $3,577.38. 534,715 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 200,734. The business's 50 day moving average is $3,524.43 and its 200-day moving average is $3,399.84. The company has a market capitalization of $121.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,456.93 and a 1-year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 433.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $11.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Booking's payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,435.00 to $3,494.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $3,850.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,823.00.

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.