Metis Global Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Metis Global Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 in the company, valued at $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock valued at $18,891,445. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BKNG. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. B. Riley started coverage on Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Booking from $3,435.00 to $3,494.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,823.00.

Booking Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $21.03 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $3,598.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 332,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,106. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3,524.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,406.68. The company has a market cap of $122.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,456.93 and a one year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.60 EPS. Booking’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.