Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Purchases 34 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 548 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 34 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 11 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 44.4% during the third quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,467 shares of company stock worth $22,299,114. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $3,601.17 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,594.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,343.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,456.93 and a 52-week high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $24.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Booking in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Booking from $3,250.00 to $4,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

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.