Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Trims Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 54.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 101 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $418,000 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 increased its stake in shares of Booking by 27.3% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,054,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,495,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $994,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Booking by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total transaction of $5,425,698.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,073,911.22. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.4%

Booking stock opened at $5,722.49 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,799.01. The company has a market cap of $186.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,361.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,970.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $20.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on BKNG. Erste Group Bank downgraded Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,388.37.

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.