Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 728 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 203,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 728 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Booking worth $721,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its stake in Booking by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 8,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,772,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 678 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,406,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,666,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock valued at $18,891,445. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Monday. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,844.48.

Booking Trading Up 0.2 %

BKNG traded up $7.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $3,605.41. 266,281 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 270,239. The company has a market cap of $122.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3,528.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,418.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,456.93 and a 1-year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $11.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

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.