Xponance Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,059 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 322 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $28,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 4,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,539,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Booking by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,635,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,841,000. Finally, Advisor Resource Council raised its stake in Booking by 382.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Resource Council now owns 357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.4 %

BKNG stock traded down $13.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $3,430.14. The company had a trading volume of 156,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,564. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,456.93 and a 52 week high of $3,918.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,586.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,364.25. The stock has a market cap of $117.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.05 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $24.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Booking in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price target on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Seven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 over the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.