Magellan Asset Management Ltd Has $55.18 Million Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management Ltd reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 4.0%, now owning 11,977 shares valued at approximately $55.18 million.
• Booking Holdings announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7%, to be paid on September 30th.
• CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock for about $5.77 million, resulting in a 3.66% decrease in his ownership of the company.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lessened its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,977 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 497 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Booking were worth $55,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Booking by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Booking by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 12 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.2% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Down 0.5%

Booking stock opened at $5,405.91 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,394.85 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,569.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5,099.02. The stock has a market cap of $175.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $5,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,781.04.

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.

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