Country Trust Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Country Trust Bank reduced its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,731 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Booking were worth $43,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd lifted its position in Booking by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Booking by 0.5% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,264,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC lifted its position in Booking by 4.8% in the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 65 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 1.7% in the first quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Booking by 14.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 24 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $4,233.18 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,832.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,780.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,272.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $37.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,092.68.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the 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 owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the 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 transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.