12,487 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 182,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,487 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $29,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. First Financial Corp IN raised its position in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its position in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% 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. Insiders sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. DA Davidson set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.24.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded down $2.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $160.65. 2,467,351 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,236,844. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The firm has a market cap of $120.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $190.53 and its 200-day moving average is $178.58.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.