Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 74,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,037 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises approximately 0.4% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $397,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC grew its position in Booking by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in Booking by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 166 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Booking by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,749,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $175.72 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $233.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $169.73 and a 200-day moving average of $183.94. The firm has a market cap of $136.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.08.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna set a $260.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Booking from $259.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.14.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.