Summit Financial LLC Invests $763,000 in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Summit Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 193 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $1,742,160,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 4,565.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its stake in Booking by 96.3% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 113,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $403,233,000 after purchasing an additional 55,716 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,909.23 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3,790.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,697.74. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,144.32. The stock has a market cap of $132.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $37.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued 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 0.90%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus upped their price objective on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Bank of America cut their price target on Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,068.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.