WP Advisors LLC Sells 32 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

WP Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 640 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Booking comprises 1.0% of WP Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. WP Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 187 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at about $108,836,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 90,149 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,161,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,975.19 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,079.50 and a fifty-two week high of $5,069.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,360.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,991.30. The company has a market capitalization of $164.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.75%.

Insider Activity at Booking

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. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on BKNG. Citigroup boosted their target price on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Booking from $5,050.00 to $5,550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,600.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $3,590.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,749.83.

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.