Stevens Capital Management LP Acquires New Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 787 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,792,000. Booking makes up 0.7% of Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Booking by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,224,000 after buying an additional 5,040 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Booking by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 149,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $462,290,000 after buying an additional 4,048 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Booking by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 131,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $466,166,000 after buying an additional 29,316 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 2,479.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $414,234,000 after buying an additional 112,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,774,850,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Seven equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,723.41.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG traded up $18.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,521.08. 138,817 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 266,242. The company has a market cap of $119.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,456.93 and a fifty-two week high of $3,918.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3,551.02 and its 200-day moving average is $3,380.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $24.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 transaction 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. Insiders have sold a total of 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825 over the last 90 days. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.