KBC Group NV Acquires 4,581 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 23.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,581 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Booking were worth $111,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Booking by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Booking by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 868 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,313,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 1.7%

Booking stock opened at $5,693.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $185.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5,274.77 and its 200 day moving average is $4,954.74. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,711.48.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,388.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total transaction of $5,425,698.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 27,646 shares in the company, valued at $148,073,911.22. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.