Banco Santander S.A. Acquires 2,975 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 845.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Booking were worth $14,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth approximately $5,322,600,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Booking by 106.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $282,590,000 after buying an additional 36,710 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in Booking by 2,315.8% in the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 36,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,755,000 after buying an additional 35,270 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $125,615,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth $95,460,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Booking from $4,448.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,785.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $5,051.29 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,431.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4,019.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.04, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,079.50 and a 52 week high of $5,069.44.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 23.75%.

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.