Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $1.71 Billion Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 318,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 27,428 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 0.8% of Janus Henderson Group PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,706,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 2.3%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $171.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $169.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.77. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $272.00 to $264.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna set a $260.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $256.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.14.

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.