National Bank of Canada FI Has $59.05 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 38.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,603 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Booking were worth $59,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in Booking by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 303 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 151 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $252,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 590 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,093,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $220,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s 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 value 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,781.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,778.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,699.70. The company has a market cap of $126.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,733.04 and a one year high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced 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 company had revenue of $5.86 billion during 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%. Booking’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $37.62 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,062.89.

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.