First United Bank & Trust Trims Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

First United Bank & Trust cut its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 36.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11 shares during the quarter. First United Bank & Trust’s holdings in Booking were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the first quarter valued at approximately $401,371,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its stake in Booking by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,518,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $537,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,897,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in Booking by 45.7% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,645,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,337.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $147.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,371.17. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3,942.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,811.55.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,130.18.

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.