Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 6th

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of 10.50 per share by the business services provider on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a 9.4% increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $9.60.

Booking has a payout ratio of 17.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Booking to earn $243.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $42.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.3%.

Booking Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,153.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $131.55 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.21. Booking has a 12-month low of $3,765.45 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,829.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,114.85.

Shares of Booking are going to split on the morning of Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $47.96 by $0.84. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $41.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 702 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,124. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,181.34, for a total value of $4,937,817.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 19,615 shares in the company, valued at $101,631,984.10. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,108 shares of company stock valued at $15,287,682. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,132,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 59.6% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 67.3% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $174,893,000 after acquiring an additional 12,148 shares during the period. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 339.0% during the third quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 229.6% in the third quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 412 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.