Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 24.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BKNG. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Booking in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $3,932.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $131.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,144.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,767.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,706.18.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

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 given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the 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 value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.