Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 10 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lowered its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 359 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $401,371,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its stake in Booking by 20.5% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,518,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Booking by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,904,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 14.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,540,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at about $537,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,212.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,272.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,795.60 and a 200 day moving average of $3,758.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $37.62 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wedbush upped their target price on Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on 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 cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Company 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.