KBC Group NV Trims Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 39.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,513 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 19,106 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.09% of Booking worth $124,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 10.4% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 255 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at about $323,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 136 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Booking by 5.3% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,762 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,022,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 3.9% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,132 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,734,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BKNG. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,940.00 to $4,510.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,005.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $4,749.83.

Booking Stock Down 0.2 %

Booking stock traded down $11.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $4,976.26. The stock had a trading volume of 126,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,702. The stock's 50 day moving average is $4,311.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,966.44. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,079.50 and a 1 year high of $5,069.44. The stock has a market cap of $164.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.