First Bank & Trust Increases Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

First Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Booking were worth $548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Booking by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 265 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,859,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth $87,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 99 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth $209,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG traded up $9.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $4,347.82. 149,588 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 244,847. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,058.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,847.37. The firm has a market cap of $145.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,395.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.81%. Booking’s payout ratio is 24.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark decreased their target price on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Booking from $4,350.00 to $5,050.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on Booking from $3,950.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,256.89.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.