Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Trims Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $17,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,040 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 376,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,336,362,000 after purchasing an additional 15,381 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 131,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $466,166,000 after purchasing an additional 29,316 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $414,234,000 after purchasing an additional 112,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,774,850,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total value of $75,619.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $649,640.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares in the company, valued at $649,640.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 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 $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,823.00.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $104.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3,577.38. 534,715 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 200,734. 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 $121.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,524.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,406.68.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 433.49%. The company’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.46 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

About Booking

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.