Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Short Interest Update

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) saw a significant 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 currently 3.7 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 255 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP raised its stake in shares of Booking by 230.2% during the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 879 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in Booking by 43.8% in the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 92 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.1 %

BKNG traded up $4.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $4,975.19. 235,745 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,170. Booking has a 52 week low of $3,079.50 and a 52 week high of $5,069.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4,360.27 and a 200 day moving average of $3,983.56. The stock has a market cap of $164.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4,600.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Argus downgraded Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently 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.