Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 71,241 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management reduced its Booking Holdings stake by 33% in the fourth quarter, selling 71,241 shares and leaving it with 144,630 shares valued at about $774.8 million.
• Several other hedge funds also made small new positions in BKNG, and institutional investors still own 92.42% of the stock, showing continued strong institutional interest.
• Booking reported quarterly earnings of $1.14 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 16.2% year over year to $5.53 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 33.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 144,630 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 71,241 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.45% of Booking worth $774,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BKNG. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Evercore set a $245.00 price target on Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Booking from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $164.94 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $233.58. The company has a market cap of $127.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Booking's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Booking Company 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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