Candriam S.C.A. Increases Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 104.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,406 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Booking were worth $80,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 133.3% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,731.35 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3,773.69 and its 200 day moving average is $3,699.80. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,144.32. The company has a market capitalization of $125.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.