Oak Thistle LLC Trims Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Oak Thistle LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 251 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 27.3% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,054,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 9.4% in the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,454.26.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded down $17.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5,632.27. 184,789 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,680. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5,540.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,042.92. The company has a market cap of $183.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Booking's payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.