Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Bought by Goelzer Investment Management Inc.

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $5,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MRA Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Booking by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 2.3% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 574 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 17.0% during the third quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 557 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,346,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its stake 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 buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 2,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,619,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG traded up $83.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4,187.70. 167,629 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 252,344. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,824.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,773.71. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,272.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS 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 company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $37.62 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking 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 in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark lowered their target price on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

Booking 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.