First Horizon Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 96 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NatWest Group plc raised its stake in Booking by 7.8% in the second quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 2,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,320,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 128 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 9,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,244,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 16.7% during the second quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 98 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 7.0% in the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 795 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Booking from $3,700.00 to $4,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,068.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG traded down $17.62 on Tuesday, hitting $3,684.39. 22,312 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 258,139. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3,808.44 and its 200 day moving average is $3,689.57. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,144.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

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.