OneAscent Financial Services LLC Reduces Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC lowered its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $47.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3,961.50. 321,265 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 196,108. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3,759.73 and a 200 day moving average of $3,623.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,624.50 and a 1 year high of $4,040.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The company’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $11.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Booking from $3,800.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,435.00 to $3,494.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,205.00 price objective (up previously from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,902.54.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total value of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,021 shares of company stock valued at $3,617,852 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.