The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 10,482,551 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 99.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,482,551 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.18% of Booking worth $338,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 400.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total transaction of $5,588,639.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 23,607 shares in the company, valued at $130,237,930.44. The trade was a 4.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $722,045.80. The trade was a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,388 shares of company stock worth $17,629,822 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 1.6%

Booking stock opened at $5,277.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $170.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a PEG 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $5,066.25 and its 200 day moving average is $5,380.31.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $5,433.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Seaport Global Securities increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wedbush raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,149.23.

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.