Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC Sells 8 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 30.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the first quarter worth approximately $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 4,565.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 96.3% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 113,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $403,233,000 after purchasing an additional 55,716 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Booking by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after buying an additional 43,743 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $4,017.51 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,144.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3,771.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,720.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $37.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Booking

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.