Bey Douglas LLC Cuts Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Bey Douglas LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 518 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 5.8% of Bey Douglas LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Bey Douglas LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $7,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 557 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,007,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Booking by 6.3% during the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 51 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 94 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $468,252,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 16.4% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 71 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $5,163.61 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $4,096.23 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The company has a market capitalization of $166.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5,188.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5,346.25.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $83.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Booking from $6,700.00 to $6,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Research Partners raised their target price on shares of Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Booking from $5,523.00 to $5,954.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Booking from $6,500.00 to $6,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,229.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,800,000. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,570,000. This represents a 11.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,324 shares of company stock valued at $17,190,323 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.