Metis Global Partners LLC Has $4.98 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Metis Global Partners LLC cut its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,479.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $414,234,000 after purchasing an additional 112,249 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,774,850,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 139.8% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 65,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $201,166,000 after acquiring an additional 37,994 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 41.8% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 101,736 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $317,313,000 after purchasing an additional 30,015 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 161.5% during the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 39,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $120,937,000 after purchasing an additional 24,219 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total transaction of $2,650,575.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ninety days, insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock valued at $18,891,445. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays cut their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,435.00 to $3,494.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,823.00.

Booking Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $21.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $3,598.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 332,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,106. The company has a market cap of $122.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3,524.43 and a 200-day moving average of $3,406.68. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,456.93 and a 52 week high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $11.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.46 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.97%. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

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.