U S Global Investors Inc. Sells 235 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

U S Global Investors Inc. trimmed its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 7.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 1.7% of U S Global Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $15,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Booking by 400.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 150.0% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in shares of Booking by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,141.53, for a total value of $3,213,456.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,162,642.46. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,570,000. The trade was a 11.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,324 shares of company stock worth $17,193,557 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,323.20 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5,127.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5,370.91. The company has a market cap of $171.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.23. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $4,096.23 and a one year high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $83.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group set a $6,806.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,590.00 to $5,550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas set a $6,100.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. 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, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,149.23.

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.