Keel Point LLC Trims Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Keel Point LLC cut its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 131 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5 shares during the quarter. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 1.3 %

BKNG stock opened at $3,485.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $119.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,456.93 and a 12-month high of $3,918.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,595.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,360.99.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $24.74 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BKNG shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley initiated coverage on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price target for the company. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,689 shares of company stock worth $16,086,423 in the last three months. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.