Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BKNG. B. Riley began coverage on Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,855.00 to $4,285.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 28th. Finally, Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,723.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,493.71, for a total transaction of $2,620,282.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,888 shares in the company, valued at $121,888,554.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,467 shares of company stock worth $22,299,114. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $106.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3,531.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 240,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,772. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,597.92 and a 200 day moving average of $3,356.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. Booking’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $24.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

About Booking

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.