Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Sold by Cortland Associates Inc. MO

Cortland Associates Inc. MO lessened its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 278,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,693 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for 6.6% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings in Booking were worth $45,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Booking by 2,674.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,026,348,000 after buying an additional 37,999,915 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,370,455,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in Booking by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,489,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,057,274,000 after acquiring an additional 64,584 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 3.8%

Booking stock opened at $153.75 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.28 and a 12 month high of $220.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.96. The firm has a market cap of $115.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.13.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush increased their price target on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 78,425 shares of company stock valued at $16,210,864. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant-reservation company that connects consumers with travel providers through digital platforms and mobile applications. Its services include accommodations, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages, restaurant reservations and other travel-related offerings.

The company operates a portfolio of well-known brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and Kayak-associated travel services.