Natixis Advisors L.P. Cuts Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Natixis Advisors L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Booking were worth $49,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $104.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3,577.38. 534,715 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 200,734. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00. The stock has a market cap of $121.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3,523.00 and a 200 day moving average of $3,395.60.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 433.49%. Booking’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $11.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock valued at $18,891,445. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,800.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,823.00.

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.