Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Holdings Cut by Fernbridge Capital Management LP

Fernbridge Capital Management LP lowered its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,135 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for about 5.3% of Fernbridge Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Fernbridge Capital Management LP owned about 0.06% of Booking worth $79,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Booking by 133.3% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Booking

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

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,064.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $137.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,772.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,727.19. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,733.04 and a one year high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. Booking’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $37.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Booking in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $3,590.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,064.21.

About Booking

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.