Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,302 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,302 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Booking worth $74,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the first quarter valued at about $401,371,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its position in Booking by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,699,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $113,827,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 18,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,234,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $879,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $72.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $3,691.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 94,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,936. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,810.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,688.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 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.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC upped their target price on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,068.32.

About Booking

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.