Ascent Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 22.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 153 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Booking by 133.3% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $4,212.12 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,272.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3,795.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,758.88.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

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.