Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Bought by Parthenon LLC

Key Points

• Parthenon LLC increased its Booking Holdings stake by 8.4% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 103,400 shares valued at approximately $16.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $233.71. Recent quarterly results also exceeded expectations, with earnings and revenue topping estimates.
• Booking shares fell 3.3% to $155.83, near the company’s 52-week low. Meanwhile, insiders sold $17.4 million of stock over the past three months, and the company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

Parthenon LLC increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 8.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,400 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Booking makes up 1.8% of Parthenon LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Parthenon LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $16,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,674.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,026,348,000 after acquiring an additional 37,999,915 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,370,455,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2,525.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,101,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,087,597,000 after acquiring an additional 5,869,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $216.00 target price on Booking and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on Booking and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 84,550 shares of company stock worth $17,426,864 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Trading Down 3.3%

NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $5.27 on Friday, hitting $155.83. The company had a trading volume of 5,931,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,982,027. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $176.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.30. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Booking's payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant-reservation company that connects consumers with travel providers through digital platforms and mobile applications. Its services include accommodations, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages, restaurant reservations and other travel-related offerings.

The company operates a portfolio of well-known brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and Kayak-associated travel services.

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