Chase Investment Counsel Corp Buys 434 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 56.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Booking comprises approximately 1.6% of Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Booking by 0.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 65 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 24 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value 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 approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,248.10 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $142.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,789.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,753.95. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,733.04 and a one year high of $4,272.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on BKNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Eleven investment 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.