Creative Planning Grows Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Creative Planning grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 17.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 649 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Booking were worth $17,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Booking by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,264,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC increased 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 worth $236,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 1.7% in the first quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 14.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 24 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3,795.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,758.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly 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. 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%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $37.62 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid 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 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking 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 directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

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.