Evergreen Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Evergreen Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 52 shares during the quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $401,371,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Booking by 2.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in Booking by 20.5% during 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 period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,904,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,540,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking 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 $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BKNG. Benchmark lowered their price target on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Eleven research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,097.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.01 billion, a PE ratio of 30.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,772.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,733.66. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,733.04 and a one year high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $37.62 EPS. Booking’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

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.