Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd

Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd decreased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 147,621 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,281 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up about 8.6% of Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd owned 0.42% of Booking worth $523,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 4,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,539,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,841,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,635,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Resource Council raised its position in shares of Booking by 382.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Resource Council now owns 357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on BKNG. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total transaction of $97,952.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $815,101.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,689 shares of company stock valued at $16,086,423 in the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $5.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $3,462.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 49,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,958. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,591.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,363.69. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,456.93 and a 12-month high of $3,918.00. The company has a market cap of $118.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. Booking’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $24.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.67%.

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.