Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Bought by Evermay Wealth Management LLC

Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 64.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BKNG. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $401,371,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,635,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $24,841,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its holdings in Booking by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,699,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Booking by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $113,827,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 3.8 %

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $145.90 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3,659.88. The company had a trading volume of 482,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,556. The firm has a market cap of $124.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,144.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,887.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,683.44.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus upped their target price on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. HSBC upped their price target on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, May 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,032.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 999 shares of company stock valued at $3,939,187 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Booking

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.