J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Decreases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 14.4%, retaining 14,976 shares valued at approximately $68.99 million, which represents 1.2% of its portfolio.
• Booking's earnings per share for the most recent quarter was $55.40, surpassing estimates by $5.08, and its revenue reached $6.80 billion.
• The company announced a $9.60 quarterly dividend to be paid to shareholders, with an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,976 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,515 shares during the period. Booking accounts for approximately 1.2% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Booking were worth $68,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, North Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Trading Down 2.1%

BKNG traded down $117.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $5,386.29. The stock had a trading volume of 199,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,527. The stock's 50 day moving average is $5,568.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5,077.69. The company has a market capitalization of $174.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $41.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 target price on Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $6,200.00 target price (up previously from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.