Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $10.82 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 684.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,051 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 1.2% of Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $10,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,723.41.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG traded down $7.36 on Tuesday, hitting $3,478.27. 159,227 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 276,138. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,595.13 and a two-hundred day moving average 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $24.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued 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 currently 29.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total value of $97,952.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $815,101.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total transaction of $97,952.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,101.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 value of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,689 shares of company stock worth $16,086,423 in the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.