Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Holdings Lessened by Novare Capital Management LLC

Novare Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 465 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $1,742,160,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 4,565.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,143,000 after buying an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 113,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $403,233,000 after acquiring an additional 55,716 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BKNG. B. Riley reduced their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,068.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded down $43.78 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $3,865.45. The company had a trading volume of 96,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,584. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,733.04 and a one year high of $4,144.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,790.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,697.74.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $37.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.