Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stake Raised by Suncoast Equity Management

Suncoast Equity Management lifted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Booking makes up 5.2% of Suncoast Equity Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Booking were worth $39,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 8.8% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,188,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 4,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,539,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $24,841,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,635,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Resource Council boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 382.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Resource Council now owns 357 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking 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 value of $14,724,670.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,689 shares of company stock worth $16,086,423. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $14.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $3,470.70. The stock had a trading volume of 99,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,355. The stock has a market cap of $118.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3,595.13 and its 200 day moving average is $3,360.99. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,456.93 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $24.74 EPS. Equities 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on BKNG. 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 report on Friday, January 19th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Booking in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.