Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $53,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth about $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 4,565.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 96.3% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 113,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $403,233,000 after purchasing an additional 55,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 29.2% during the first 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 during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 research report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial started coverage on Booking in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price target for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Eleven investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,125.01 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,805.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,766.25. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,733.04 and a 1-year high of $4,272.88. The firm has a market cap of $138.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $37.62 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

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.