Summit Asset Management LLC Buys New Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Summit Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $26.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3,442.00. The company had a trading volume of 181,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,985. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $3,531.58 and its 200-day moving average is $3,395.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.10 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $24.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total transaction of $2,650,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.