Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock: Insider Paulo Pisano Sells 1,500 Shares

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) insider Paulo Pisano sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.06, for a total transaction of $244,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 70,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,479,424. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Paulo Pisano also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 15th, Paulo Pisano sold 1,500 shares of Booking stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $259,530.00.
• On Monday, August 31st, Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of Booking stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00.

Booking Stock Down 1.4%

BKNG opened at $163.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $122.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $220.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $182.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.57.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 23.4% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 20.5% during the third quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,821 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 34.6% during the third quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 31,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,105,000 after acquiring an additional 8,061 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 90.2% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 66,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,843,000 after acquiring an additional 31,559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BKNG. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.95.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant-reservation company that connects consumers with travel providers through digital platforms and mobile applications. Its services include accommodations, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages, restaurant reservations and other travel-related offerings.

The company operates a portfolio of well-known brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and Kayak-associated travel services.