Trek Financial LLC Buys Shares of 674 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 674 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,902,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,956,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,620,154,000 after purchasing an additional 30,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 854,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,936,132,000 after buying an additional 9,333 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,210,917,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Booking by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 377,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,183,690,000 after buying an additional 17,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Booking by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 370,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,706,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,723.00 to $6,790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6,141.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total transaction of $5,588,639.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 23,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,237,930.44. This represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,045.80. This represents a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,452 shares of company stock worth $17,987,397 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,135.07 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $4,096.23 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market cap of $165.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5,104.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5,388.17.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $83.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Booking’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

Booking 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.