Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 641,723 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 150,307 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 1.99% of Booking worth $3,436,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $165.84 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $233.58. The company has a market cap of $128.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.09.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Booking from $224.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Argus raised their target price on Booking from $188.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on Booking from $272.00 to $264.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $210.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 97,076 shares of company stock valued at $16,417,121 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Company Profile

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.