Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 18.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 35,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,863 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $5,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kennebec Savings Bank increased its stake in Booking by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 5,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Booking by 1.2% in the third quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 108,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the period. XXI Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. Parthenon LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 8.4% in the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 103,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,845,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Finally, MBL Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth $348,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 84,550 shares of company stock worth $17,426,864. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.71.

Booking Trading Down 3.3%

BKNG stock opened at $155.83 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $220.81. The stock has a market cap of $117.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $176.85 and its 200 day moving average is $177.36.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $55.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid 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 yield of 1.1%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Booking Profile

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.