Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,450 shares during the period. Booking comprises approximately 0.6% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Booking worth $244,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 352 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp lifted its stake in Booking by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 110 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 358 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Booking by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the 1st 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Booking in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $3,590.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,064.21.

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 stock was 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 directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $3,802.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,733.04 and a 12-month high of $4,144.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3,772.05 and a 200-day moving average of $3,698.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.03 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Booking’s 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.