Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) VP Peter Millones Sells 50,050 Shares of Stock

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) VP Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Booking Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $208.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $185.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.06.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth $15,641,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $18,278,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $34,142,000. RB Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $1,000,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $699,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.