Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Has $45.73 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management Inc. has decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 11.5%, selling 1,290 shares, which leaves them with 9,926 shares valued at approximately $45.7 million.
• Analysts have revised their price targets for Booking Holdings, with B. Riley increasing the target from $6,000 to $6,100 and most analysts maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Booking reported earnings of $24.81 per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $17.57, with revenue reaching $4.76 billion.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,926 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,290 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $45,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Booking Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of BKNG stock traded down $117.77 on Friday, reaching $5,386.29. The stock had a trading volume of 199,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,746. The firm's 50-day moving average is $5,567.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5,070.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BKNG. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $6,000.00 price objective (up from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $5,750.00 target price (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,781.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 26,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $151,674,935. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.