Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 25 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $5,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 4,565.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 55,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position 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 buying an additional 43,743 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,064.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,772.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,725.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, 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.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $37.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 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 0.86%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’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 approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale 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 firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Argus raised their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Benchmark reduced their price target on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial initiated 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 on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Company 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.