Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,158 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $83.15 on Monday, hitting $3,702.01. 198,153 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 259,622. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3,808.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,689.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $37.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $4,205.00 target price (up from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,068.32.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by 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.