Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Holdings Lessened by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter valued at $401,371,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its stake in Booking by 20.5% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,518,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Booking by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,904,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in Booking by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,540,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $537,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Monday. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Trading Down 2.6 %

BKNG stock opened at $4,100.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $139.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,733.04 and a 1-year high of $4,272.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3,799.23 and its 200-day moving average is $3,763.72.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

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.