Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,723 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Booking were worth $38,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 211 shares in the company, valued at $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $14,752,005. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,414.82 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,571.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,371.70. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $24.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Booking in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 target price on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn restated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,850.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned 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 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.