Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 12.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Booking were worth $5,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,322,600,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Booking by 4,565.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,143,000 after buying an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $702,049,000 after acquiring an additional 43,743 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 106.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $282,590,000 after acquiring an additional 36,710 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Booking by 2,315.8% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 36,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,755,000 after acquiring an additional 35,270 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $11.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $4,439.42. 71,031 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 243,673. The company’s fifty day moving average is $4,085.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,862.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,756.13 and a fifty-two week high of $4,446.83. The stock has a market cap of $148.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $37.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. StockNews.com lowered Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,256.89.

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.