Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 26.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,375 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Booking were worth $24,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 8.9% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,836,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Booking by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 117 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Westover Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at about $333,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at about $6,902,000. Finally, Trustmark National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth about $555,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of BKNG traded down $47.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3,961.50. The company had a trading volume of 321,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,729. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,624.50 and a 1-year high of $4,040.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,759.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,623.63. The stock has a market cap of $134.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $11.60 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. B. Riley initiated coverage on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 target price on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com lowered Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, May 6th. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,902.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total value of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 211 shares in the company, valued at $756,027.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,021 shares of company stock valued at $3,617,852 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Company 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.