SVB Wealth LLC Grows Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

SVB Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 591 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eads & Heald Wealth Management grew its stake in Booking by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 621 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,204,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated 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 for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,443.91 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,586.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,364.25. The company has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $24.74 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

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.