B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 179 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 38.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 292 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 4,565.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 29.2% in the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after purchasing an additional 43,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 106.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $282,590,000 after buying an additional 36,710 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,104.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3,814.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,768.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,272.88.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BKNG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. B. Riley decreased their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

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.