Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Decreases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 240 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Booking by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Booking by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,785,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Booking by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,388.37.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $5,301.05 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,639.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5,136.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,943.85. The company has a market cap of $172.50 billion, a PE ratio of 32.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a net margin of 22.58% and a negative return on equity of 143.67%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $20.39 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total value of $5,425,698.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 27,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,073,911.22. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.