FCG Investment Co Invests $1.37 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• FCG Investment Co has purchased $1.37 million worth of Booking Holdings Inc. shares, adding to a trend where institutional investors are increasing their stakes, now owning 92.42% of the company.
• Booking's CEO, Glenn D. Fogel, sold over $5.7 million in shares, reducing his ownership position by 3.66%, while insiders have collectively sold over $16.9 million in shares recently.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Booking, with UBS increasing theirs to $6,300, reflecting a general bullish sentiment, as the stock maintains a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating.

FCG Investment Co acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 297 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,368,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Mechanics Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $6,200.00 target price (up from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,781.04.

Booking Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,454.29 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,592.28 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5,558.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,123.66. The company has a market cap of $176.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $41.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

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.

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