Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

Key Points

• UBS AM reduced its stake in Booking Holdings by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 25,622 shares and leaving it with 246,147 shares worth about $1.32 billion.
• Booking reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $1.14 EPS versus the $1.08 consensus and revenue of $5.53 billion, up 16.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive on BKNG, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $227.14, while the stock recently opened at $164.94 and trades below its 200-day average.

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,147 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 25,622 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.76% of Booking worth $1,318,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on BKNG shares. Piper Sandler set a $195.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Susquehanna set a $260.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays set a $210.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.14.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $164.94 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The firm's revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,076 shares of company stock valued at $16,417,121 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company's businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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