Xponance Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Xponance Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,656 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 273 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $35,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Booking by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its stake 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 worth $616,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $472,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP increased its stake 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 worth $60,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 worth $809,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total value of $5,425,698.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,073,911.22. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,692.00 to $5,411.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,415.00.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5,717.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 150,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,704. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $5,437.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,994.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.03 billion, a PE ratio of 35.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $20.39 earnings per share. Booking's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.