Bard Financial Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Bard Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,954,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,718,390,000 after acquiring an additional 12,456 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 4.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 514,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,865,949,000 after purchasing an additional 21,969 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 376,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,336,085,000 after purchasing an additional 15,303 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Booking by 3.1% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 358,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,421,069,000 after buying an additional 10,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Booking by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $702,049,000 after buying an additional 43,743 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,187.70 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,733.04 and a 1-year high of $4,272.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,824.24 and a 200 day moving average of $3,775.58. The firm has a market cap of $142.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during 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 prior year, the company earned $37.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BKNG. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

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.