Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Position Lifted by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 76 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Booking were worth $270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $3,521.08 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00. The company has a market cap of $119.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,547.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,383.62.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $24.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Booking 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 211 shares in the company, valued at $756,027.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

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.