Oak Thistle LLC Sells 55 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Oak Thistle LLC decreased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 18.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in Booking by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 15,013 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,164,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $88,330,000. Wesleyan Assurance Society lifted its position in Booking by 22.2% during the first quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society now owns 5,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,502,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Nelson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 0.7% during the first quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,155,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Advisors raised its position in Booking by 14.3% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 80 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,736.32 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5,531.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,037.81. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market cap of $186.66 billion, a PE ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $20.39 EPS. Booking’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $5,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $5,700.00 price objective (up from $5,600.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,453.15.

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.