Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Position Raised by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $6,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,068,137,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Booking by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,184,224,000 after buying an additional 5,040 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Booking by 61.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 295,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $596,303,000 after buying an additional 112,831 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 217,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $510,828,000 after buying an additional 5,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd lifted its position in Booking by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 149,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $462,290,000 after buying an additional 4,048 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $10.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $3,433.52. The company had a trading volume of 104,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,325. The stock has a market cap of $117.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,586.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,364.25. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,456.93 and a fifty-two week high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $24.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Booking’s dividend 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.