Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5 shares during the quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Booking by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Booking by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,537,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,550,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L1 Capital International Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $16,161,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,233.18 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,733.04 and a 52 week high of $4,272.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,832.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,780.65. The company has a market capitalization of $143.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its 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 company 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%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,092.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 approximately $100,556,375.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.