Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 2,738 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 13.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,738 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for 0.8% of Intech Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Booking worth $67,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Booking by 133.3% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,017.51 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,144.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,771.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,720.94. The stock has a market cap of $134.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $37.62 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus raised their price target on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Profile

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.