Acadian Asset Management LLC Purchases 7,786 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,786 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 1.2% of Acadian Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Booking worth $334,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Booking by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 164 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Van Leeuwen & Company LLC grew its stake in Booking by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Van Leeuwen & Company LLC now owns 487 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,727,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its holdings in Booking by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 110 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $36.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3,967.25. The company had a trading volume of 160,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 189,349. The stock has a market cap of $134.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,144.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,882.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,673.84.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $11.60 EPS. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total value of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 999 shares of company stock worth $3,939,187. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. StockNews.com upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,980.15.

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.