Insider Selling: Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) VP Sells 50,050 Shares

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) VP Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Booking Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of BKNG traded up $3.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $208.20. The company had a trading volume of 4,534,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,403,101. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $231.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.85. The stock has a market cap of $156.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial set a $242.00 target price on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% during the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.