Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Insider Paulo Pisano Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) insider Paulo Pisano sold 1,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $259,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 71,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,440,138. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Paulo Pisano also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 31st, Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of Booking stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00.

Booking Stock Up 0.0%

Booking stock opened at $171.40 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $193.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.13. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The company has a market capitalization of $128.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush increased their price target on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.98.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.