Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stake Reduced by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Booking were worth $646,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its stake in Booking by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Booking by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,710,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in Booking by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its position in Booking by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 487 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Booking by 0.7% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 601 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $38.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3,634.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 146,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,652. The stock has a market cap of $124.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,456.93 and a one year high of $3,918.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,580.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,314.29.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $24.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.46 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,850.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,697.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David I. Goulden sold 1,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,494.47, for a total transaction of $3,494,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,657,571.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,467 shares of company stock valued at $22,299,114. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.