Larson Financial Group LLC Acquires 29 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 87.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Booking by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its stake in Booking by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in Booking by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Booking by 0.7% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 2.4% in the third quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $3,517.52 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,555.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,379.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $24.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 29.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Susquehanna increased 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. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to 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.