ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 3,967 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,967 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Booking worth $134,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $401,371,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Booking by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $113,827,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in Booking by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,518,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Booking by 50.2% during the 4th 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 increased its position in Booking by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,540,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 target price for the company. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $4,064.01 on Friday. The firm 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. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,144.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3,772.09 and its 200 day moving average is $3,727.19.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was 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 owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.