Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC lowered its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 82.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 777 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Booking by 133.3% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth $28,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking 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 value of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,284.73 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,885.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,798.34. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,328.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Booking in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price target for the company. B. Riley cut their target price on Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,092.68.

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.