ProVise Management Group LLC Boosts Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

ProVise Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Booking accounts for about 1.0% of ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $12,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth $401,371,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Booking by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $113,827,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. Commerce Bank increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 18,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,234,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Booking by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in shares of Booking by 20.5% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,518,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 target price for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the 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 owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,028.30 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,733.04 and a 1-year high of $4,144.32. The company has a market cap of $135.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,769.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,718.87.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $37.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. 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.