Grove Bank & Trust Has $28,000 Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 133.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Booking were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the first quarter worth $401,371,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in Booking by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,699,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $113,827,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 18,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,234,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $879,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,068.32.

Booking Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Booking stock traded up $62.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $3,830.58. 223,343 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 258,373. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $3,801.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,692.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $37.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.