Smith Group Asset Management LLC Has $32.95 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 43 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 2.7% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $32,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the first quarter valued at approximately $537,000. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,897,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $519,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,423,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 16,668.9% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 15,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,569,000 after purchasing an additional 15,002 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BKNG. Wedbush lifted their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. B. Riley reduced their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,256.89.

Booking Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,347.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $145.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4,071.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,856.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,756.13 and a 12-month high of $4,395.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% 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.