Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 344,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 24,738 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,451,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Up 4.5%

BKNG opened at $182.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $141.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $169.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.71.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. Booking’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $244.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.55.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% 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. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking 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.