Confluence Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,487 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $29,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Booking by 2,674.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,026,348,000 after acquiring an additional 37,999,915 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,370,455,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,525.5% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,101,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,087,597,000 after purchasing an additional 5,869,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $2.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $160.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,467,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,236,844. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $190.53 and its 200 day moving average is $178.58. The stock has a market cap of $120.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.24.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.