Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Increases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 842 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $1,068,137,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Booking by 1.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,184,224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,040 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Booking by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 295,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $596,303,000 after acquiring an additional 112,831 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 2.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 217,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $510,828,000 after acquiring an additional 5,506 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Booking by 2.8% during the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 149,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $462,290,000 after acquiring an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BKNG. B. Riley began coverage on Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total value of $97,952.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $815,101.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded down $23.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $3,443.91. 170,859 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 275,648. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,456.93 and a 52-week high of $3,918.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,591.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,363.69. The company has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.22, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $24.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

Booking Company 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.