Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Franklin Resources cut its Booking Holdings stake by 37.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 69,457 shares and leaving it with 116,257 shares valued at about $622.6 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 remain generally positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.14.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,257 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 69,457 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.36% of Booking worth $622,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 188 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Elgethun Capital Management raised its stake in Booking by 2.1% in the third quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 97 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank raised its stake in Booking by 3.4% in the third quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC raised its stake in Booking by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 57 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its stake in Booking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 140 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Down 2.1%

BKNG opened at $162.30 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $169.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.81. The company has a market cap of $125.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 0.99 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This 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 a total of 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on BKNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.14.

Booking 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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