Handelsbanken Fonder AB Decreases Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Booking were worth $131,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC increased its stake in Booking by 4.8% in the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 65 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 1.7% in the first quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Booking by 14.3% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 24 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 2.0 %

BKNG stock traded up $83.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4,187.70. 167,629 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 252,344. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,272.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3,824.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,775.58. The stock has a market cap of $142.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $37.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s 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 value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the 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 directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

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.