Independent Franchise Partners LLP Reduces Share Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP reduced its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 83,047 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises approximately 3.9% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 0.32% of Booking worth $418,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the first quarter valued at $401,371,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Booking by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $113,827,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in Booking by 20.5% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,518,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Booking by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,904,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 14.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,540,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. 92.42% of shares are owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Booking in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research report on Wednesday , September 4. Finally, StockNews.com cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21, according to MarketBeat.

View BKNG’s latest stock report

Bookings trading up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,064.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $137.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,144.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,772.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,727.19.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Your Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. In the same period last year, the company earned $37.62 per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking announces dividends

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid an $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6. This represents a dividend of $35.00 on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Buying and selling from within Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC’s website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available on the SEC’s website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of shares are currently owned by insiders.

Booking profile

(Free Report)

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of online travel and restaurant reservations and related services. The company, through its online travel companies (OTC), connects consumers seeking to make travel reservations with travel service providers around the world. It offers consumers a wide range of accommodation bookings (including hotels, B&Bs, B&Bs, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its brands Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com.

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