Machina Capital S.A.S. Sells 133 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 58.3%, holding 95 shares worth approximately $438,000 following the sale of 133 shares in Q1.
• CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares valued at about $5.77 million, resulting in a 3.66% decrease in his ownership.
• Research analysts have mixed views on Booking stock, with ratings ranging from strong-buy to hold, as 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Machina Capital S.A.S. trimmed its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 58.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Booking were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Booking in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Booking in the first quarter valued at $46,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,454.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $151,674,935. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of BKNG stock traded down $17.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $5,632.27. 184,789 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 172,500. The firm's 50-day moving average is $5,546.48 and its 200 day moving average is $5,049.91. The company has a market capitalization of $183.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

About Booking

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.