Spire Wealth Management Lowers Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Spire Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 321 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in Booking were worth $1,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 138 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 73 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 313 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Booking stock traded up $97.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5,693.13. 297,425 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,100. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,717.34. The company has a market capitalization of $185.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5,252.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,953.57.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a net margin of 22.58% and a negative return on equity of 143.67%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $20.39 earnings per share. Booking's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,388.37.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 27,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,073,911.22. This represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.