Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Acquires 32 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 349 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in Booking by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Booking by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,577.38 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,523.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,395.60. The company has a market cap of $121.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 433.49% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $11.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 26.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Booking from $3,800.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America raised their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,823.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,483 shares of company stock valued at $18,891,445 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.