Morse Asset Management Inc Reduces Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Morse Asset Management Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,644 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 1.6% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Booking were worth $6,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its position in Booking by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 358 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd raised its holdings in Booking by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Booking by 0.5% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,264,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 4.8% during the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 65 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Booking by 1.7% during the first quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Argus boosted their target price on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,064.21.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.2 %

BKNG opened at $4,064.01 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,144.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3,772.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,729.29. The firm has a market cap of $137.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $37.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

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.