AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 762 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up about 0.5% of AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.26% of Booking worth $340,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on BKNG. Argus raised their price target on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,064.21.

Insider Transactions at Booking

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

Booking Stock Down 0.0 %

BKNG opened at $4,175.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3,773.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,738.53. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,182.79.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.