Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Bought by Professional Advisory Services Inc.

Professional Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for approximately 4.5% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $34,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $401,371,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 4,565.4% during 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. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Booking by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after acquiring an additional 43,743 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Booking by 106.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $282,590,000 after acquiring an additional 36,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in Booking by 2,315.8% during the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 36,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,755,000 after acquiring an additional 35,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,370.77 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,733.04 and a 1-year high of $4,394.95. The company has a market capitalization of $148.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,962.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,815.43.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $3,590.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,130.18.

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.