Capital International Ltd. CA Sells 3,195 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Capital International Ltd. CA lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,195 shares during the period. Capital International Ltd. CA’s holdings in Booking were worth $18,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,271,041,000. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 28,353.8% during the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 204,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,094,083,000 after buying an additional 203,580 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 61.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 215,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,165,546,000 after purchasing an additional 82,326 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 8,004.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 70,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $377,176,000 after purchasing an additional 69,561 shares during the period. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $361,463,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $165.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $128.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $233.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.09.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The business’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at $55,269,532.64. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% 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 have sold a total of 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Gordon Haskett lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $188.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.14.

About Booking

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.