iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,917 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Booking Holdings by 43.3% to approximately $29.69 million, owning 6,445 shares after selling 4,917 during the first quarter.
• CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares for a total transaction of $5,769,035, representing a 3.66% decrease in his position.
• Booking Holdings announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7%, to be paid on September 30th.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 43.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,445 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,917 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $29,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Mechanics Financial Corp purchased a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Down 1.9%

Booking stock traded down $104.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $5,432.10. The company had a trading volume of 200,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,521. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5,571.61 and a 200-day moving average of $5,090.75. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,307.90 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market cap of $176.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $6,200.00 price target (up from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $6,000.00 price objective (up previously from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $6,700.00 target price (up from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.