PFG Investments LLC Sells 4 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

PFG Investments LLC decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,068,137,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Booking by 3,557.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 142,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,870,000 after purchasing an additional 138,279 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Booking by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 295,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $596,303,000 after purchasing an additional 112,831 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 2,479.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $414,234,000 after purchasing an additional 112,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $222,919,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.3 %

BKNG stock opened at $3,673.50 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,580.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,314.29. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,456.93 and a 52-week high of $3,918.00. The firm has a market cap of $125.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $24.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO David I. Goulden sold 1,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,494.47, for a total value of $3,494,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,204 shares in the company, valued at $35,657,571.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,467 shares of company stock valued at $22,299,114 in the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays cut their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,697.38.

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.