GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter worth about $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 4,565.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Booking by 29.2% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Booking by 106.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $282,590,000 after buying an additional 36,710 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson cut 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 note on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,169.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,824.24 and a 200 day moving average of $3,776.97. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,272.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $37.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Booking’s payout ratio is 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.