Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of The Priceline Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PCLN) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in The Priceline Group were worth $39,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCLN. Well Done LLC increased its position in shares of The Priceline Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 175 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. increased its position in shares of The Priceline Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 268 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Priceline Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 906 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in shares of The Priceline Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan Co. increased its position in shares of The Priceline Group by 5.3% in the first quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. 94.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Shares of The Priceline Group Inc. (PCLN) opened at 1793.48 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,936.36 and a 200-day moving average of $1,827.19. The Priceline Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,402.67 and a 52-week high of $2,067.99. The company has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.09 and a beta of 1.42.
The Priceline Group (NASDAQ:PCLN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The business services provider reported $15.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $14.25 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. The Priceline Group had a net margin of 20.51% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $13.93 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Priceline Group Inc. will post $74.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays PLC reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of The Priceline Group in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $1,850.00 target price on shares of The Priceline Group in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on The Priceline Group from $2,000.00 to $2,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank AG reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $2,075.00 target price (up from $1,950.00) on shares of The Priceline Group in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on The Priceline Group from $2,000.00 to $2,200.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,924.32.
In other news, CEO Gillian Tans sold 123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,880.38, for a total value of $231,286.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,904,323.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jan L. Docter sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,857.67, for a total transaction of $2,786,505.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,753.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,367 shares of company stock valued at $8,166,685. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.
About The Priceline Group
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.
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