Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 839 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 11.2% during the first quarter, now owning 8,301 shares worth approximately $38.24 million.
• Booking Holdings announced quarterly earnings of $24.81 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $17.57 and reflecting a revenue increase of 7.9% year-over-year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $9.60, representing a dividend yield of 0.68% with a payout ratio of 23.89%.

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,301 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 839 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Booking were worth $38,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 27.3% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $15,054,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 9.4% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. BTIG Research upgraded Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,627.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $151,674,935. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of BKNG traded up $38.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $5,629.12. 151,439 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 253,224. The stock has a market cap of $183.17 billion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $5,558.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,061.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. Booking's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $41.90 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 23.89%.

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.