Insider Selling: Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Director Sells $78,827.54 in Stock

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 211 shares in the company, valued at $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 15th, Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of Booking stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total transaction of $97,952.12.
• On Wednesday, February 7th, Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of Booking stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $3,414.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $116.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,571.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,366.94. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,456.93 and a one year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $24.74 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $1,068,137,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Booking by 1.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,184,224,000 after buying an additional 5,040 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 376,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,336,362,000 after purchasing an additional 15,381 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 295,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,303,000 after purchasing an additional 112,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 286,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,913,000 after purchasing an additional 53,233 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BKNG. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

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.