Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $18,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $1,742,160,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at about $401,371,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $3,774,850,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,080,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $227,143,000 after buying an additional 61,268 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $3,950.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark decreased their price target 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, B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,068.32.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,881.45 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,733.04 and a 1-year high of $4,144.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3,798.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,692.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $37.62 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company 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.