183 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $642,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Booking by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its position in shares of Booking by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in Booking by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Booking by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Booking by 0.7% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 601 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,318,211.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $9.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3,524.06. 65,269 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,203. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,560.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,378.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on BKNG. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. 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 research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 research report on Friday, February 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

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.