Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Has $1.65 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 464 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 3,200.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 33 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.4% in the third quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,041,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at $225,000. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at $1,409,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded up $42.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3,795.35. 151,814 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 262,719. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3,604.71 and its 200-day moving average is $3,499.25. The firm has a market cap of $128.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,456.93 and a 52 week high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. Booking’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $11.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,651 shares of company stock valued at $19,485,975 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,876.96.

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.