Quent Capital LLC Raises Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 110 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

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 shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Argus boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,068.32.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG traded up $33.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $3,417.08. 428,771 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 259,786. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,144.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3,863.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,691.06.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 237.46% and a net margin of 22.46%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $37.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.9 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

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.