Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Raises Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,028 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the transaction, the director now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $756,027.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,021 shares of company stock worth $3,617,852. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Trading Down 0.1 %

BKNG stock traded down $4.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3,912.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 23,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 251,884. The company has a market cap of $132.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3,792.09 and its 200-day moving average is $3,636.75. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,624.50 and a 12 month high of $4,040.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $11.60 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. HSBC raised their price objective on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,205.00 target price (up previously from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,902.54.

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.