Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 10,406 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 104.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,406 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.06% of Booking worth $80,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Booking by 4.4% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,407,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 76 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in Booking by 6.7% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 127 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Booking by 2.4% in the second quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hendershot Investments Inc. raised its position in Booking by 4.1% during the second quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 6,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,062,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Booking Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $3,731.35 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3,773.69 and its 200 day moving average is $3,699.80. The stock has a market cap of $125.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 26.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Eleven 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,064.21.

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.