Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,349 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $33,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total transaction of $5,425,698.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 27,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,073,911.22. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of BKNG traded up $17.77 on Friday, hitting $5,304.03. 441,919 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,615. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $5,180.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,945.20. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,639.70.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. BTIG Research raised shares of Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,388.37.

Booking Company 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.