Troy Asset Management Ltd Has $32.45 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Troy Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for about 1.0% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $32,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s 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 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BKNG. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $3,590.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Eleven equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $4,212.12 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,795.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,758.88. The company has a market cap of $142.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,272.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $37.62 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. 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.