IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 115 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $31,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective 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. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Booking from $3,950.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,183.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $15.31 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $4,328.32. 60,374 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 244,828. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40. 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 simple moving average of $4,029.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,838.71.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Booking 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.