Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. Booking makes up 1.2% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Booking were worth $19,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BKNG. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BKNG. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Booking from $3,940.00 to $4,510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,400.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,749.83.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $22.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4,943.27. 282,361 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 248,525. The firm has a market cap of $163.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,240.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,931.94. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,998.52 and a twelve month high of $5,060.50.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.75%.

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.