Lafayette Investments Inc. Has $981,000 Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 100.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 233 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in Booking by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,518,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $537,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at $6,897,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $519,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,933,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Booking stock traded up $17.99 on Thursday, reaching $4,331.00. The stock had a trading volume of 28,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 244,674. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4,029.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,838.71. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,395.00. The company has a market cap of $146.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $37.62 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Booking from $4,250.00 to $4,800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,183.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.