Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 37 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $131,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,068,137,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,040 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Booking by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 295,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,303,000 after purchasing an additional 112,831 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 217,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $510,828,000 after purchasing an additional 5,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Booking by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 149,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $462,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $15.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3,414.82. The stock had a trading volume of 218,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,505. The company has a market capitalization of $116.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,571.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,366.94. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,456.93 and a 1 year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released 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 business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $24.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Booking’s payout ratio is 29.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Booking from $3,855.00 to $4,285.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

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.