Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stake Reduced by Riverwater Partners LLC

Riverwater Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5 shares during the quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $209,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,372,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 27,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,073,911.22. This represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $5,286.26 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,639.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5,165.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,946.64.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $20.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research raised shares of 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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, Wall Street Zen upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,388.37.

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.