Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Purchased by Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Booking were worth $12,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 854,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,936,132,000 after acquiring an additional 9,333 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth $2,210,917,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Booking by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 379,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,495,000 after purchasing an additional 24,030 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Booking by 4.9% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 377,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,183,690,000 after acquiring an additional 17,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 578,824.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,675,765,000 after buying an additional 289,412 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $6,325.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wedbush raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. BNP Paribas set a $6,100.00 price target on Booking in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6,149.23.

Booking Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,436.93 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4,096.23 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5,065.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5,377.45. The firm has a market cap of $175.23 billion, a PE ratio of 35.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.25.

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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $83.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,141.53, for a total value of $3,213,456.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,162,642.46. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,570,000. The trade was a 11.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,324 shares of company stock valued at $17,193,557. 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.