Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 20.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,859 shares during the period. Booking makes up 0.9% of BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Booking were worth $89,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 400.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in Booking by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,301.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $170.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5,061.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $5,379.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $4,096.23 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $83.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 24.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total value of $5,588,639.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,237,930.44. This trade represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,800,000. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 3,388 shares of company stock valued at $17,629,822 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Booking from $6,500.00 to $6,600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6,000.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $6,325.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6,250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6,149.23.

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.