Independent Franchise Partners LLP Lowers Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP cut its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) 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 biggest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 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 during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its position in Booking by 20.5% during 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 increased its stake in Booking by 50.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,540,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price 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 target price 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 decreased their price target for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,064.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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 business 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) last issued 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. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $37.62 earnings per share. The firm’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 Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 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 at the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’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 the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking 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.