Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Takes $2.33 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 475 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parthenon LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.4% during the first quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 3,574 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,465,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Booking by 60.0% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 208 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Booking by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 623 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,870,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its stake in Booking by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 11,154 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,424,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Booking by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 78 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.3%

Booking stock traded up $18.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5,702.90. The company had a trading volume of 146,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,875. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5,489.29 and a 200-day moving average of $5,016.25. The firm has a market cap of $185.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.48, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a net margin of 22.58% and a negative return on equity of 143.67%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $20.39 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,453.15.

About Booking

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.