Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 553 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $3,774,850,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,459,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Booking by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 76 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $582,000. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $290,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $3,797.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $128.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,144.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3,798.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,692.78.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $37.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Booking from $3,700.00 to $4,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,068.32.

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.