Sigma Planning Corp Increases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 135 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Booking were worth $568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 10.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $323,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in Booking by 12.4% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 136 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position 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 valued at $10,022,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in Booking by 11.4% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 166 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,800.00 to $5,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,749.83.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,970.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $164.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,079.50 and a fifty-two week high of $5,069.44. The business’s 50-day moving average is $4,311.61 and its 200-day moving average is $3,966.44.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.