Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Boosts Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Booking were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $3,521.08 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $3,547.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,383.62. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,456.93 and a 1-year high of $3,918.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.79 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The company 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%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $24.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Booking’s payout ratio is 29.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares in the company, valued at $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares in the company, valued at $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Seven equities 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.com, the company 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.