Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Boston Partners

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 3.3% in Q1, now holding approximately 0.27% of the company valued at $400 million.
• Booking's CEO, Glenn D. Fogel, sold 1,013 shares of the company stock, decreasing ownership by 3.66%, while insiders sold a total of 3,039 shares worth nearly $17 million in the last three months.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Booking, with the consensus rating at "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $5,781, reflecting optimism around the company's financial performance.

Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 86,831 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,761 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.27% of Booking worth $400,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Booking by 98.1% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 929 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,280,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Booking by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,782,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $382,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in Booking by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 71,467 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $329,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,162 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $151,674,935. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BKNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,781.04.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $30.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5,454.29. 157,977 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 205,158. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,592.28 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5,558.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,123.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.77 billion, a PE ratio of 37.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $41.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Booking Company 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.