Main Street Research LLC Buys 126 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Main Street Research LLC raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Booking accounts for approximately 2.1% of Main Street Research LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $26,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BKNG. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of Booking stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total value of $97,952.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $815,101.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,689 shares of company stock valued at $16,086,423. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.3 %

BKNG traded down $10.63 on Tuesday, hitting $3,475.00. 125,821 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 275,641. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,456.93 and a fifty-two week high of $3,918.00. The stock has a market cap of $118.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,595.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,360.99.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors 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 1.01%. Booking’s payout ratio is 29.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,850.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.