American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 92.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 322,191 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $125,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elequin Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 20.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 125 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,454.29 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,558.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5,123.66. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,592.28 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.77 billion, a PE ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $41.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,674,935. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Barclays raised their target price on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 target price on Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,781.04.

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.