Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. Sells 284 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,546 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 284 shares during the period. Booking accounts for approximately 1.5% of Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $7,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Booking by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Booking by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in Booking by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP raised its position in Booking by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 12 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in Booking by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 49 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $50.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $5,718.51. 169,232 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,660. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $5,425.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,990.14. The firm has a market cap of $186.08 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total value of $5,425,698.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,073,911.22. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. UBS Group lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Booking from $4,692.00 to $5,411.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $5,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,415.00.

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.