Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC

Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Booking makes up 0.9% of Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $9,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in Booking by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Booking by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in Booking by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Booking by 0.7% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 2.4% during the third quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. Mizuho lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Seven 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 MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,723.41.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’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 directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Down 0.4 %

BKNG stock traded down $15.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $3,414.82. 218,773 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 273,283. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,456.93 and a 52 week high of $3,918.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3,571.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,366.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.67%.

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.