Capital International Investors Cuts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Capital International Investors cut its Booking Holdings stake by 58.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 100,779 shares and leaving it with 72,113 shares valued at about $386.2 million.
• Booking reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.14 versus $1.08 expected and revenue of $5.53 billion, up 16.2% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, while analysts currently maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $227.14 price target.

Capital International Investors lowered its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 58.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,113 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 100,779 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned approximately 0.22% of Booking worth $386,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $165.84 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $233.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.97. The stock has a market cap of $128.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.08.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Booking's payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. 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 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $195.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $188.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $272.00 to $264.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.14.

About Booking

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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