Vanessa Ames Wittman Sells 15 Shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total value of $80,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 702 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,124. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Vanessa Ames Wittman also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, November 17th, Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,030.00, for a total transaction of $75,450.00.
• On Wednesday, October 15th, Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total transaction of $79,379.70.

Booking Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,340.98 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5,069.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5,377.19. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $4,096.23 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market cap of $172.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $83.39 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Booking in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $6,100.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas set a $6,100.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Booking from $6,723.00 to $6,790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $6,150.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,149.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.