Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,062 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for approximately 0.4% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.19% of Booking worth $235,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 16.5% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 127 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 27.5% during the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at $204,000. Solidarity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 6.1% during the third quarter. Solidarity Wealth LLC now owns 2,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,730,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at $1,755,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. B. Riley started coverage on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Ascendiant Capital Markets raised their price target on Booking from $3,700.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. 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 research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,723.41.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $18.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,521.08. 146,026 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 193,606. The firm has a market cap of $119.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,456.93 and a 52-week high of $3,918.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,547.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,383.62.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $24.74 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 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.