Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Short Interest Up 12.1% in October

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 796,800 shares, an increase of 12.1% from the October 15th total of 710,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 216,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded up $44.79 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $5,019.98. The stock had a trading volume of 73,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,387. Booking has a 52-week low of $3,079.50 and a 52-week high of $5,069.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4,360.27 and a 200 day moving average of $3,991.30. The stock has a market cap of $166.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. 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 (DPR) is currently 23.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of Booking by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $537,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,897,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $519,000. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its holdings in Booking by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4,600.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wedbush increased their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,749.83.

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.