Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Position Boosted by Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $21,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in Booking by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,897,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $519,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its position in shares of Booking by 25.0% during the third quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 11.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,423,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’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 value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,205.00 to $5,155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush upped their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Booking from $5,050.00 to $5,550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,785.00.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,177.15 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4,482.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,041.24. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,079.50 and a 52 week high of $5,216.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.36 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.75%.

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.