Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 3,555 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 66.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,555 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Booking were worth $37,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Booking by 368.5% in the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 670 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,822,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Booking by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 9,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,345,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Booking by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,132,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,981,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $28,386,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 1.1%

BKNG stock opened at $184.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $168.43 and a 200 day moving average of $181.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Booking’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Booking’s payout ratio is 22.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Gordon Haskett boosted their price target on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. HSBC cut their target price on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock valued at $13,545,706 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.