Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,228 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.08% of Booking worth $114,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Booking by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,388.37.

Booking Trading Down 1.3%

BKNG stock opened at $5,539.41 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,007.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,933.57. The company has a market capitalization of $180.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,639.70.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $20.39 EPS. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.