New Covenant Trust Company N.A. Acquires New Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 27 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Booking by 647.5% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its position in Booking by 23.7% in the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 141 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Booking in the first quarter worth about $7,256,000. Garner Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Booking by 6.2% in the first quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 16.4% in the first quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,643,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $50.83 on Thursday, reaching $3,664.18. 548,375 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 252,166. The company has a market cap of $124.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,144.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3,881.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,690.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $11.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Booking from $3,700.00 to $4,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. HSBC lifted their target price on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,092.56.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% 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.