Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,593 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $131,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in Booking by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 25 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 52 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership increased its position in shares of Booking by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 2.7%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $177.46 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $171.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.87. The firm has a market cap of $137.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus set a $210.00 target price on Booking and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore set a $245.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.05.

Booking Company 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.