Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 569 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 3.1% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $58,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,318,211.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded up $18.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,521.08. 146,026 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 193,606. The company has a market capitalization of $119.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,547.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,385.88. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. Booking’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $24.74 EPS. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Booking Company Profile

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.