Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,885,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 358 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,270,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Booking by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Booking by 0.5% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,264,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 4.8% during the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 65 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.7% during the first quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Booking

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Booking in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $3,590.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,064.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3,772.09 and a 200-day moving average of $3,727.19. The company has a market cap of $137.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,144.32.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

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.