Chemistry Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Chemistry Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 779 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises about 0.8% of Chemistry Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. B. Riley started coverage on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $4,205.00 price objective (up from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,902.54.

Booking Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $32.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3,982.38. 175,004 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,827. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,624.50 and a 1-year high of $4,033.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.12 billion, a PE ratio of 29.87, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3,726.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,614.06.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $11.60 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $756,027.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,021 shares of company stock worth $3,617,852. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Company 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.