Chicago Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Chicago Capital LLC increased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 235 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $15,054,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,495,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in Booking by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,459,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $994,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research upgraded Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,388.37.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total transaction of $5,425,698.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 27,646 shares in the company, valued at $148,073,911.22. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $5,301.05 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,136.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,943.85. The firm has a market cap of $172.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.98, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,639.70.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.58% and a negative return on equity of 143.67%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $20.39 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.89%.

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.