Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $1.53 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 287.2%, acquiring an additional 247 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 333 shares worth approximately $1.53 million.
• Booking Holdings' recent quarterly earnings showed earnings per share of $55.40, surpassing expectations, while revenue increased by 16% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $9.60 quarterly dividend set to be paid on September 30, with a yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 287.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 333 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Booking were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 521,609.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,887,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,362,892 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,831,499,000 after purchasing an additional 58,357 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 285,064 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,416,318,000 after buying an additional 3,926 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Booking by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 278,063 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,381,534,000 after buying an additional 4,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.3% during the first quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 136,309 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $627,963,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson increased their target price on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,781.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $117.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $5,386.29. The company had a trading volume of 199,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,527. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.57 billion, a PE ratio of 37.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5,568.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5,077.69.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

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

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.