Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases 120 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings in Booking were worth $17,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 29 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. RB Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Booking by 104.6% in the third quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 266 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 900.0% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 10 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd lifted its position in shares of Booking by 4.8% during the third quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 4,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,188,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2.5% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 571 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,414.53, for a total value of $3,091,696.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,759,275.30. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,800,000. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 3,324 shares of company stock valued at $17,193,557 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Down 1.3%

Booking stock opened at $5,355.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $172.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5,124.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,370.74. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $4,096.23 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. The business had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $83.39 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,443.00 to $5,523.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Booking from $6,700.00 to $6,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Booking from $5,590.00 to $5,550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America raised Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6,000.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on Booking from $6,200.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,149.23.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.