Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 728 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 203,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 728 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $721,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Booking by 8.8% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its position in Booking by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 4,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,539,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Booking by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,635,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,841,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $879,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $7.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $3,605.41. The stock had a trading volume of 266,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,239. The firm has a market cap of $122.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,528.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,418.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $11.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Booking from $3,435.00 to $3,494.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,844.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.