Mackenzie Financial Corp Boosts Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,250 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.06% of Booking worth $85,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Booking by 4,565.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 96.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 29.2% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after purchasing an additional 43,743 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Eleven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking 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 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 available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of 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. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,248.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,789.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,750.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,733.04 and a 12-month high of $4,272.88.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

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.