QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 727 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Argus increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,068.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded up $48.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3,443.05. 251,858 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,027. The stock has a market cap of $115.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,833.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,685.86. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,733.04 and a 12-month high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $37.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

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.