Goldstein Advisors LLC Trims Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Goldstein Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3 shares during the quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $5,322,600,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 4,565.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after buying an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Booking by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $702,049,000 after buying an additional 43,743 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Booking by 106.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $282,590,000 after buying an additional 36,710 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Booking by 2,315.8% in the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 36,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,755,000 after buying an additional 35,270 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Benchmark cut their target price on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Booking from $4,250.00 to $4,800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,448.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,256.89.

Booking Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,347.82 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4,058.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,849.23. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,395.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.