Gabelli Funds LLC Has $12.61 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,184 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $12,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Booking by 4,565.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 96.3% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 113,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $403,233,000 after purchasing an additional 55,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 29.2% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after purchasing an additional 43,743 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,097.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,144.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,772.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,733.66.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. 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 dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’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 transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

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.