J. Stern & Co. LLP Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 463 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,834,000. Booking makes up approximately 0.2% of J. Stern & Co. LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,064.01 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,772.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,729.29. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking 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 transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 currently owned by insiders.

Booking Company 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.