Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Bought by Appleton Partners Inc. MA

Appleton Partners Inc. MA grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 16.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Booking were worth $8,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,902.54.

Booking Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ BKNG traded up $24.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $3,977.82. The company had a trading volume of 45,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,462. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,605.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,982.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,674.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,580.27. The firm has a market cap of $134.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $11.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $649,640.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total value of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,318,211.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,021 shares of company stock valued at $3,617,852 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.