LGT Group Foundation Acquires 338 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

LGT Group Foundation lifted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Booking comprises 1.2% of LGT Group Foundation’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Booking were worth $53,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Booking by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,040 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd grew its holdings in Booking by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 149,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $462,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Booking by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 131,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $466,166,000 after purchasing an additional 29,316 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Booking by 2,479.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $414,234,000 after purchasing an additional 112,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,774,850,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock traded down $9.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3,406.34. 111,657 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 262,057. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,456.93 and a fifty-two week high of $3,918.00. The company has a market capitalization of $115.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3,531.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,395.06.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The business 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%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $24.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BKNG. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total transaction of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.