770 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Bought by Aurora Investment Counsel

Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 770 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,050,000. Booking accounts for approximately 1.8% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $31,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,212.12 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,795.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,758.88. The stock has a market cap 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 Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,272.88.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 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 $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on BKNG shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. B. Riley lowered their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 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. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

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.