Piscataqua Savings Bank Reduces Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Piscataqua Savings Bank lowered its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 33.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3 shares during the quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank’s holdings in Booking were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,054,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,459,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Hickory Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,624,000. Finally, Realta Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $520,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,614.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $182.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,639.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4,990.30 and a 200 day moving average of $4,933.48.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $20.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BKNG. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,377.33.

Booking 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.