Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys 3,555 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 66.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,555 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Booking were worth $37,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $188.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $214.00 price objective on Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.11.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $184.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $233.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $168.43 and a 200 day moving average of $181.93.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 80,351 shares of company stock valued at $13,545,706 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.