Marathon Asset Management Ltd Reduces Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Marathon Asset Management Ltd reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 23.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,375 shares during the quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $24,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 2.3% in the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Booking by 3.2% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 65 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Booking by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 488 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.1%

Booking stock opened at $5,440.14 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $4,096.23 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5,107.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5,370.20. The company has a market capitalization of $175.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $83.39 EPS. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Booking from $6,450.00 to $6,630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $6,325.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $5,810.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,149.23.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 571 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,414.53, for a total value of $3,091,696.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,759,275.30. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,570,000. This represents a 11.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,324 shares of company stock worth $17,193,557. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.