Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Fenimore Asset Management Inc

Fenimore Asset Management Inc trimmed its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 500,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,408 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 1.8% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Booking were worth $81,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Booking by 2,674.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,026,348,000 after purchasing an additional 37,999,915 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,370,455,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,525.5% during the second 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 worth $1,087,597,000 after buying an additional 5,869,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% 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 worth $17,182,274 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $4.10 on Thursday, reaching $159.97. 7,777,094 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,239,592. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.13. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $220.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $187.59 and a 200 day moving average of $178.12.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.38.

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.