Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its Booking Holdings stake by 1.9%, selling 22,079 shares and retaining 1.12 million shares valued at approximately $182.1 million.
• Institutional investors control approximately 92.42% of Booking’s outstanding stock, with BlackRock and State Street among firms that recently established or significantly increased positions.
• Booking exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $233.71; the company also pays a $0.42 quarterly dividend.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lessened its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,117,511 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 22,079 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.15% of Booking worth $182,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp increased its position in 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 valued at $7,026,348,000 after purchasing an additional 37,999,915 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth $1,370,455,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Booking by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,489,929 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,057,274,000 after purchasing an additional 64,584 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $163.92 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $220.81. The stock has a market cap of $123.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company's fifty day moving average price is $180.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.47.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Booking's payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $188.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Cowen raised shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently 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, insider Paulo Pisano sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.06, for a total transaction of $244,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 70,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,479,424. This trade represents a 2.09% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% 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 have sold a total of 84,550 shares of company stock valued at $17,426,864 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking 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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