CENTRAL TRUST Co Lowers Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

CENTRAL TRUST Co decreased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 361 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction of $5,425,698.91. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,388.37.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,286.26 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5,149.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,946.21. 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 market capitalization of $172.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.89%.

About Booking

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.