AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 136,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,788 shares during the period. Booking makes up 0.6% of AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $779,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Florida Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at about $439,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Booking in the second quarter worth $227,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.3% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 52,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $306,118,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Booking by 61.4% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 48,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $280,222,000 after buying an additional 18,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ampersand Capital Group L.P. boosted its stake in Booking by 22.4% in the second quarter. Ampersand Capital Group L.P. now owns 3,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,552,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total value of $79,379.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 732 shares in the company, valued at $3,873,729.36. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,800,000. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,388 shares of company stock worth $17,629,822 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,301.64 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $5,061.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $5,379.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.25. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $4,096.23 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $83.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BKNG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,723.00 to $6,790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Gordon Haskett upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,620.00 to $5,710.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark lifted their price target on Booking from $6,200.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $6,000.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,149.23.

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.