GAM Holding AG Boosts Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

GAM Holding AG lifted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG’s holdings in Booking were worth $10,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Booking by 521,609.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,887,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362,892 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,295,423,000 after buying an additional 864,406 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $1,958,352,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 280,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,394,283,000 after acquiring an additional 95,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,499,000 after acquiring an additional 58,357 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total value of $5,425,698.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 27,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,073,911.22. This represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $5,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,388.37.

Booking Stock Up 0.3%

BKNG opened at $5,304.03 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,639.70. The stock has a market cap of $172.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.00, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5,180.10 and a 200-day moving average of $4,947.25.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $20.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.89%.

About Booking

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.