Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 539 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter valued at $537,000. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,897,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Booking during the first quarter worth about $519,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 11.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,423,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 16,668.9% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 15,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $63,569,000 after purchasing an additional 15,002 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,943.27 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,998.52 and a 12-month high of $5,060.50. The firm has a market cap of $163.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,240.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,931.94.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, October 7th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Booking from $4,800.00 to $5,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Booking from $4,448.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,749.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.