Czech National Bank Buys 363 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Booking were worth $28,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 4,565.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after buying an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after acquiring an additional 43,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 106.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $282,590,000 after acquiring an additional 36,710 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com lowered Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,104.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $137.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,272.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,814.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,768.60.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $388,761.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.