Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 27.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,931 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.05% of Booking worth $66,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $1,068,137,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,184,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,040 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 295,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $596,303,000 after purchasing an additional 112,831 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 217,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $510,828,000 after purchasing an additional 5,506 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.8% during the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 149,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $462,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,467.77 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,591.59 and a 200-day moving average of $3,363.69. The firm has a market cap of $118.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $24.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is 29.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,689 shares of company stock worth $16,086,423 over the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.