EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth about $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $227,143,000 after acquiring an additional 61,268 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 96.3% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 113,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $403,233,000 after purchasing an additional 55,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 29.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 43,743 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark cut their target price on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus increased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price objective for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

Insider Transactions at Booking

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

Booking Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,097.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,144.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,772.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,733.66.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $37.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Booking Company 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.