Kingfisher Capital LLC Has $4.37 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Kingfisher Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18 shares during the period. Kingfisher Capital LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 4,565.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 96.3% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 113,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $403,233,000 after purchasing an additional 55,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 29.2% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $702,049,000 after buying an additional 43,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Wedbush lifted their target price on Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Eleven 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,177.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $140.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,733.04 and a 12-month high of $4,182.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3,773.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,738.53.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.