Ritholtz Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 953 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,954,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,718,390,000 after acquiring an additional 12,456 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 4.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 21,969 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 376,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,336,085,000 after purchasing an additional 15,303 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in Booking by 3.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Booking by 29.2% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after buying an additional 43,743 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $3.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4,284.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 125,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,739. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,885.93 and its 200-day moving average is $3,796.52. The firm has a market cap of $145.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 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 $4,328.54.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last posted 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 company 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $37.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer decreased 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. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,092.68.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Booking

Booking Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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