Auxano Advisors LLC Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Auxano Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 51 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $401,371,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its stake in Booking by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,699,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Booking by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $113,827,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its position in Booking by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 18,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,234,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $879,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BKNG. DA Davidson dropped their target price 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight 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.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,068.32.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, 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 through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.5 %

BKNG stock traded up $18.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $3,909.23. The company had a trading volume of 239,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,744. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3,791.96 and a 200 day moving average of $3,696.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly 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. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $37.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.