Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Bought by Optimist Retirement Group LLC

Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11 shares during the quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA acquired a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 37.8% in the second quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 18.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,372,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.0% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,111,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in Booking by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,267,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,028.30 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,144.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3,769.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,718.87.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. The business 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 last year, the firm earned $37.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $3,590.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Benchmark decreased their price target on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

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.