Napatree Capital LLC Raises Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Napatree Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 40.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Napatree Capital LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 521,609.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,887,718,000 after buying an additional 2,362,892 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $1,958,352,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Booking by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 280,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,394,283,000 after purchasing an additional 95,308 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Booking by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,831,499,000 after purchasing an additional 58,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 132.7% during the fourth quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 88,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $440,967,000 after purchasing an additional 50,605 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,658.13 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5,479.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $5,011.47. The stock has a market cap of $184.12 billion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 22.58% and a negative return on equity of 143.67%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $20.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $5,700.00 price target (up from $5,600.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Booking from $4,692.00 to $5,411.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,453.15.

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.