Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Yacktman Asset Management LP cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,016 shares during the period. Booking accounts for approximately 1.5% of Yacktman Asset Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in Booking were worth $165,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.6 %

BKNG stock traded up $19.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3,522.33. 81,490 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 265,506. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,551.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,380.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $24.74 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total transaction of $2,650,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,318,211.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Ascendiant Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,700.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus 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.