Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 813 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 11 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sutton Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 1.2 %

Booking stock traded down $45.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3,627.88. 274,089 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 287,796. The company has a market cap of $123.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3,584.17 and a 200-day moving average of $3,316.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $24.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Booking’s payout ratio is 29.67%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,467 shares of company stock valued at $22,299,114 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Ascendiant Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,700.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,697.38.

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.