Patton Fund Management Inc. Takes $3.45 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,446,000. Booking makes up 1.0% of Patton Fund Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 433.3% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 16 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $961,000. American National Bank lifted its position in Booking by 4.3% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 96 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA boosted its stake in Booking by 0.3% during the second quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA now owns 1,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,545,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank boosted its stake in Booking by 10.9% during the second quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 19,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,677,000 after buying an additional 1,955 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,130.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. TheStreet raised shares of Booking from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,350.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,200.00 to $3,450.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,137.29.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,176.29, for a total transaction of $2,382,217.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 38,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,125,174.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Susana D’emic sold 1,200 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,203.49, for a total transaction of $3,844,188.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,111,510.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,176.29, for a total transaction of $2,382,217.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,449 shares in the company, valued at $122,125,174.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,341 shares of company stock valued at $13,450,436 in the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded down $64.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $3,094.32. 44,316 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,901. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,046.85 and a 200-day moving average of $2,767.93. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,616.85 and a 1 year high of $3,251.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.35.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $37.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $28.84 by $8.78. The company had revenue of $5.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.17 billion. Booking had a return on equity of 285.21% and a net margin of 23.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $19.08 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 144.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.