Decatur Capital Management Inc. Purchases 2 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Decatur Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for 2.5% of Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 521,609.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,887,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362,892 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Booking by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 296,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,365,170,000 after purchasing an additional 18,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,655,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,532.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,610.44 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5,558.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $5,131.66.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $41.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,476.89, for a total value of $5,548,089.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 4,052 shares of company stock valued at $22,511,858 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,781.04.

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.