Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) CEO Glenn Fogel Sells 669 Shares

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) CEO Glenn Fogel sold 669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,292.10, for a total transaction of $2,871,414.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,063,291.60. The trade was a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Booking Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $149.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $4,442.33. 326,538 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 421,604. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4,644.46 and its 200-day moving average is $5,033.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.21. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,765.45 and a one year high of $5,839.41.

Booking shares are going to split on Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $47.96 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $41.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $10.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $42.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $9.60. Booking’s payout ratio is 25.28%.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BKNG. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $6,600.00 to $6,000.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $7,746.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6,000.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $5,600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,845.61.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.