Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 7 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 116.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7 shares during the quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $60,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,054,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 513 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,363,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,447.92 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,557.64 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5,563.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5,110.00. The company has a market capitalization of $176.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6,200.00 price objective (up previously from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $5,750.00 price objective (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,781.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at $151,674,935. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.