Short Interest in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Rises By 12.1%

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 796,800 shares, an increase of 12.1% from the October 15th total of 710,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 216,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,400.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,749.83.

Booking Trading Up 0.1 %

BKNG stock traded up $4.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4,975.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 235,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,276. The company has a market cap of $164.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38. Booking has a 12 month low of $3,079.50 and a 12 month high of $5,069.44. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $4,360.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,987.27.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 23.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Booking by 133.3% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Company 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.