Yacktman Asset Management LP Sells 11,016 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Yacktman Asset Management LP decreased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,016 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 1.5% of Yacktman Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned about 0.13% of Booking worth $165,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Booking by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,040 shares during the period. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Booking by 2.8% in the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 149,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $462,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 131,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $466,166,000 after buying an additional 29,316 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 2,479.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $414,234,000 after buying an additional 112,249 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,774,850,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,855.00 to $4,285.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,723.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $19.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3,522.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 81,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 265,506. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,551.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,380.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,456.93 and a one year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $24.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 29.67%.

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.