Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Director Vanessa Ames Wittman Sells 1,125 Shares

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $190.86 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $172.57 and its 200-day moving average is $193.84. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.62 and a 52 week high of $233.58. The firm has a market cap of $151.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.20.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $46.88. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BKNG. UBS Group set a $259.40 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $256.00 to $188.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Barclays set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.80 target price (down from $233.20) on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.66.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial raised its price target to $260 and kept a Buy rating, signaling bullish analyst confidence in Booking’s recent results and outlook. Tigress Raises PT to $260
• Positive Sentiment: 24/7 Wall St reiterated a bullish view with a $257.28 price target and a Buy model, highlighting upside vs. current levels. 24/7 Wall St Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: OpenTable (a Booking unit) completed the acquisition of Canadian reservation platform Libro, expanding OpenTable’s footprint in Quebec and strengthening Booking’s restaurant/reservations business. This is strategically accretive to its restaurants unit. OpenTable Acquires Libro
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking announced CFO Ewout Steenbergen will present at Barclays’ Americas Select Conference on May 5; management access can clarify outlook but is informational rather than a direct catalyst. Barclays Conference Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and previews (Zacks/Yahoo) expect earnings growth heading into next week’s report — this raises expectations for a potential beat, but also increases event-driven volatility. Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank lowered its price target to $210 (but retained a Buy rating), trimming implied upside and likely tempering some investor enthusiasm. Deutsche Bank Lowers PT to $210
• Negative Sentiment: Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan (filed with the SEC). While executed under a trading plan (reducing red-flag risk), insider selling can still be perceived negatively by some investors. Insider Sale SEC Filing

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 7.7% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,132,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 59.6% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 229.6% in the third quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 412 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 339.0% in the third quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 72,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,009,000 after purchasing an additional 4,589 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.