Simmons Bank Cuts Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Simmons Bank cut its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 780 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Booking by 133.3% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,650.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,600.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eleven research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,749.83.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,022.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $166.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.08, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,076.54 and a 12 month high of $5,069.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4,287.85 and a 200 day moving average of $3,959.25.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.75%.

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.