First Horizon Advisors Inc. Grows Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Booking by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 894 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in Booking by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Van Leeuwen & Company LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Van Leeuwen & Company LLC now owns 487 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in Booking by 0.9% during the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 352 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $17.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $3,684.39. 22,312 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 258,139. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3,808.44 and its 200-day moving average is $3,689.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,733.04 and a 12-month high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $37.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Booking from $3,700.00 to $4,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark dropped their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,205.00 price target (up previously from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Eight investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,068.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, 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 transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.