Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Trims Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management cut its Booking Holdings stake by 79.7% in the second quarter, leaving the fund with 1,542 shares valued at approximately $275,000. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Booking reported quarterly EPS of $2.54 and revenue of $7.35 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue increased 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.72 versus the stock’s reported price of $212.06. However, insiders sold 89,625 shares worth about $15.9 million over the past 90 days.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 79.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,542 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,063 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Booking were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the third quarter worth about $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The business's fifty day moving average price is $184.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.84.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking's payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore set a $245.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.72.

Booking 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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