Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Purchases 359 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $19,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 487 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.7% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.5 %

BKNG traded down $17.89 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $3,467.74. 144,238 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 275,966. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3,595.13 and its 200 day moving average is $3,360.99. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $24.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.01%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other 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 transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,101.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,689 shares of company stock valued at $16,086,423 in the last 90 days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn restated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Ascendiant Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,700.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Seven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,723.41.

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.