MRA Advisory Group Boosts Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

MRA Advisory Group grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7 shares during the quarter. MRA Advisory Group’s holdings in Booking were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 574 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 17.0% in the third quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 557 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Booking by 5.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 6,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,765,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its stake in shares of Booking by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 2,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,619,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA raised its position in shares of Booking by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 1,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, 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 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 $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.5 %

BKNG opened at $4,104.12 on Friday. 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 moving average of $3,814.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,768.60. The company has a market cap of $137.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $37.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BKNG. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Booking in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

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.