Trust Co of Kansas Boosts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Trust Co of Kansas lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for about 2.1% of Trust Co of Kansas’ holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Trust Co of Kansas’ holdings in Booking were worth $4,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Booking by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,233.18 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,832.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,780.65. The stock has a market cap of $143.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,733.04 and a 52 week high of $4,272.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $37.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BKNG. Jefferies Financial Group cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Eleven 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,092.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’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 transaction of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking 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.