U S Global Investors Inc. Sells 1,746 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

U S Global Investors Inc. cut its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,746 shares during the period. Booking accounts for 2.1% of U S Global Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $21,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,954,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,718,390,000 after purchasing an additional 12,456 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Booking by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 514,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,865,949,000 after acquiring an additional 21,969 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in Booking by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 358,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,421,069,000 after acquiring an additional 10,889 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Booking by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after acquiring an additional 43,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Booking by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 159,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $584,492,000 after acquiring an additional 28,904 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. Barclays upped their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. B. Riley dropped their price objective 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. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial began coverage on Booking in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,133.75.

Booking Stock Down 0.6 %

Booking stock traded down $24.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $4,339.45. The company had a trading volume of 5,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,476. The stock has a market cap of $147.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,394.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3,998.82 and a 200 day moving average of $3,829.91.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $37.62 earnings per share. Equities 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 given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related 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 value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.