Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. lessened its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,795 shares during the period. Axa S.A. owned about 0.10% of Booking worth $126,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Booking by 133.3% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 target price for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,177.56 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,733.04 and a 52 week high of $4,182.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3,773.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,738.53.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.