Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Sapient Capital LLC

Key Points

• Sapient Capital cut its Booking Holdings stake by 7.2% in the third quarter, selling 23,044 shares and retaining 296,879 shares valued at approximately $48.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Booking carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $235.38; several firms recently raised their targets or upgraded the stock.
• Booking reported quarterly EPS of $2.54 and revenue of $7.35 billion, exceeding estimates, while revenue increased 8.1% year over year. Shares recently traded at $159.97, near the company’s 52-week low, and the firm pays a quarterly dividend of $0.42.

Sapient Capital LLC lowered its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 296,879 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 23,044 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for 0.7% of Sapient Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $48,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen upgraded Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.38.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG traded up $4.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $159.97. 7,777,094 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,239,592. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $186.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.00. The company has a market cap of $120.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.13. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,935,432. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,050 shares of company stock worth $17,182,274. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.

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