Nemes Rush Group LLC Cuts Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Nemes Rush Group LLC lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 470 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8 shares during the quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the first quarter worth about $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 4,565.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,143,000 after acquiring an additional 61,268 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 113,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $403,233,000 after purchasing an additional 55,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $702,049,000 after purchasing an additional 43,743 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,248.10 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,733.04 and a 12-month high of $4,272.88. The company has a market capitalization of $142.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3,789.54 and its 200 day moving average is $3,752.18.

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. 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 for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $37.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Benchmark lowered their price target on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

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.