Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,293 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $298,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the first quarter valued at $401,371,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 4,565.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $702,049,000 after purchasing an additional 43,743 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 106.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $282,590,000 after buying an additional 36,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in Booking by 2,315.8% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 36,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,755,000 after buying an additional 35,270 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock traded up $33.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $4,340.85. 36,529 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,788. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,371.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3,922.03 and a 200-day moving average of $3,807.84.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $37.62 EPS. Research 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial started coverage on Booking in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities upped their price target on Booking from $3,950.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,130.18.

Booking 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.