Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 62 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lessened its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Booking were worth $10,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes 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 during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 81 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Prakash Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $999,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $5,304.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,639.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5,180.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,947.25.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 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 value of $5,425,698.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 27,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,073,911.22. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently 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 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.