Renaissance Investment Group LLC Sells 239 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Renaissance Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 8.3%, now owning 2,642 shares valued at approximately $12.17 million.
• Booking reported earnings of $24.81 per share, significantly exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue of $4.76 billion, reflecting a 7.9% year-over-year growth.
• Insider trading activity saw CEO Glenn D. Fogel sell 1,013 shares for approximately $5.77 million, reducing his ownership in the company by 3.66%.

Renaissance Investment Group LLC lowered its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,642 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 239 shares during the period. Booking comprises 3.0% of Renaissance Investment Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Renaissance Investment Group LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $12,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business'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. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BKNG shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna increased their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $6,200.00 price target (up from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,781.04.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded down $149.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $5,354.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 109,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,082. The business's fifty day moving average price is $5,567.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $5,070.33. The firm has a market cap of $173.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $41.90 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 23.89%.

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.