344 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Purchased by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 344 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,226,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its holdings in Booking by 2,800.0% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 29 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 38.7% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 4.8% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 503 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at $3,278,000. Finally, Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at $305,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total value of $812,830.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,318,211.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $15,157,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,021 shares of company stock worth $3,617,852 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, May 6th. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 target price for the company. Argus increased their price target on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Bank of America increased their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,902.54.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG traded up $13.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3,930.15. 201,774 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 185,779. The stock has a market cap of $133.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3,800.27 and a 200-day moving average of $3,639.94. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,624.50 and a 52 week high of $4,040.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $11.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

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.