Temasek Holdings Private Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Temasek Holdings Private Ltd reduced its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,508 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $8,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Booking by 15.6% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,958,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Booking by 18.6% in the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 75,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $437,284,000 after purchasing an additional 11,829 shares during the period. Covey Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.0% in the second quarter. Covey Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,467,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Booking by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,262,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 67.3% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $174,893,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,820.35, for a total value of $2,135,415.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,775,572.85. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 960 shares in the company, valued at $4,800,000. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,388 shares of company stock worth $17,629,822 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,197.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $167.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $4,096.23 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5,077.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,383.16.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $83.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $5,433.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Booking from $6,723.00 to $6,790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,590.00 to $5,550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6,146.23.

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.