PDS Planning Inc Increases Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of Booking by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 138 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Booking by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total transaction of $5,425,698.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 27,646 shares in the company, valued at $148,073,911.22. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.1%

BKNG stock opened at $5,485.35 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,639.70. The stock has a market cap of $178.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5,231.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,950.49.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $20.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BKNG. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,388.37.

About Booking

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.