Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 932 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Booking by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,943.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $163.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50-day moving average is $4,240.54 and its 200 day moving average is $3,931.94. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,998.52 and a 12 month high of $5,060.50.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.75%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s 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 $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BKNG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $4,600.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,400.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Booking from $4,448.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,749.83.

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.