Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 71,241 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 33.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 71,241 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $774,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Booking by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its position in Booking by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Elgethun Capital Management raised its position in Booking by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank raised its position in Booking by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC raised its position in Booking by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 57 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 97,076 shares of company stock valued at $16,417,121 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $164.94 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $233.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BKNG. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Booking from $224.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.14.

About Booking

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.