Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $141.78 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,969 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,556 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Booking worth $141,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Booking by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,203 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,267,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 310 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $1,107,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $1,032,000. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,670,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $3,950.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $3,876.96.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded down $60.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $3,745.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 238,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 271,895. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,456.93 and a 1-year high of $3,918.00. The company has a market cap of $127.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50-day moving average is $3,544.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,437.94.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $11.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,651 shares of company stock valued at $19,485,975 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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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