Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 100 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 23.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 520 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total value of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total value of $812,830.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 999 shares of company stock worth $3,939,187 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $3,700.99 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,887.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,686.47. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,733.04 and a one year high of $4,144.32. The firm has a market cap of $125.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Booking from $3,800.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,700.00 to $4,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,056.31.

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.