First Financial Bankshares Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 831 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking during the third quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the third quarter worth about $29,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,448.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Booking from $4,350.00 to $5,050.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,256.89.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $4,347.82 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4,058.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,851.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,395.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $37.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.