Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Position Increased by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Booking were worth $39,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in shares of Booking by 100.0% in the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,800,000. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,570,000. This trade represents a 11.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 3,324 shares of company stock valued at $17,193,557 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,394.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5,077.53 and its 200-day moving average is $5,375.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.25. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $4,096.23 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. The business had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $83.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,640.00 to $6,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $5,590.00 to $5,550.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6,000.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Gordon Haskett increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,620.00 to $5,710.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas set a $6,100.00 target price on Booking in a report on Monday, November 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,149.23.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.