BloombergSen Inc. Lowers Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• BloombergSen Inc. reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 1.7%, now owning 17,583 shares worth approximately $81 million, making it the 9th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Booking Holdings reported strong earnings with an EPS of $24.81 in Q1, exceeding estimates by $7.24, and generated revenue of $4.76 billion, up 7.9% from the previous year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 0.68% and a dividend payout ratio of 23.89%.

BloombergSen Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,583 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 309 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 5.0% of BloombergSen Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. BloombergSen Inc. owned 0.05% of Booking worth $81,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Booking by 27.3% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,054,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the first quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 9.4% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,281,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG traded down $17.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5,632.27. 184,789 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 172,500. The company has a market capitalization of $183.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5,546.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5,048.68. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. Booking's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $20.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Booking from $4,692.00 to $5,411.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. B. Riley boosted their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,454.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking 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.