Peter Millones Sells 62,500 Shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) VP Peter Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Booking Trading Up 0.9%

BKNG opened at $169.82 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.57. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $233.58. The stock has a market cap of $131.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Gordon Haskett upped their price target on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Booking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.14.

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.