Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Has $977,000 Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 15.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Booking by 133.3% during 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 last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,313.01 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,395.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4,029.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,838.71. The firm has a market cap of $146.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,164.11.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.