EULAV Asset Management Decreases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

EULAV Asset Management reduced its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,752 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 900 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management's holdings in Booking were worth $11,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Booking by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BKNG. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $5,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,050.00 to $5,550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho increased 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $4,785.00.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock traded up $39.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $5,016.43. 167,411 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 247,532. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,079.50 and a 12-month high of $5,069.44. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $4,407.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4,012.03. The company has a market capitalization of $166.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.75%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.