Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 110.8% during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to $903,000.
• Booking Holdings reported earnings of $55.40 per share, surpassing estimates and achieving a 16% year-over-year revenue growth with total revenue of $6.8 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, set to be paid on September 30, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.7%.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 110.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 196 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $903,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Booking in the first quarter worth $41,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the first quarter valued at $46,000. Mechanics Financial Corp bought a new stake in Booking during the first quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,454.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,558.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5,123.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,592.28 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $41.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at $151,674,935. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,781.04.

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.

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