Aubrey Capital Management Ltd Has $3.55 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Aubrey Capital Management Ltd boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises about 1.5% of Aubrey Capital Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 261.4% in the fourth quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Booking by 173.8% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 219 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $290,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $582,000. Finally, Overbrook Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $13,288,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,723.41.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG traded up $18.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3,521.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 146,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 193,606. The company has a market cap of $119.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,547.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,383.62. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,456.93 and a 52-week high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion during 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 revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $24.74 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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