Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,010 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Booking worth $166,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley upped their price target on Booking from $4,650.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $5,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Baird R W raised Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,909.90.

Booking Stock Up 0.7 %

Booking stock opened at $4,980.40 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24. The company has a market cap of $164.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,878.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,226.95.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.75%.

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.