Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Cambridge Trust Co.

Cambridge Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 26.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Booking were worth $131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $1,742,160,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter worth $401,371,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $3,774,850,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $220,080,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 4,565.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after acquiring an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $336.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $3,328.13. The stock had a trading volume of 801,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 242,833. The company has a market capitalization of $112.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,872.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,690.67. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 237.46% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $3,950.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Booking from $3,700.00 to $4,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,039.73.

Booking 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.