Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Purchases Shares of 143 Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BKNG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,742,160,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the first quarter worth approximately $401,371,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,774,850,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,080,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 4,565.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after buying an additional 61,268 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total value of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 999 shares of company stock worth $3,939,187 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $41.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3,700.99. The stock had a trading volume of 233,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,060. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,144.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,887.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,686.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. Booking’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $11.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $4,205.00 price objective (up from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Benchmark upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4,700.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,400.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,056.31.

Booking Company 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.