Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Booking were worth $43,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth about $5,322,600,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Booking by 4,565.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after buying an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Booking by 29.2% in the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after buying an additional 43,743 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 106.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $282,590,000 after acquiring an additional 36,710 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,315.8% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 36,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,755,000 after acquiring an additional 35,270 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $9.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $4,347.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 149,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 244,847. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,395.00. The stock has a market cap of $145.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4,043.91 and a 200-day moving average of $3,842.18.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. Booking’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $37.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Booking from $4,350.00 to $5,050.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Booking from $4,250.00 to $4,800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,256.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.12% 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.