Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Increases Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $7,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,742,160,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2,479.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $414,234,000 after buying an additional 112,249 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $401,371,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $3,774,850,000. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,080,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $36.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,967.25. 159,268 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,693. The company has a market capitalization of $134.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,144.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3,879.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,669.58.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. HSBC raised their price target on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Booking from $3,494.00 to $3,497.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,980.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total value of $75,619.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total value of $812,830.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 999 shares of company stock worth $3,939,187 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

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.