AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,788 shares during the period. Booking accounts for approximately 0.6% of AQR Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Booking worth $779,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 400.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. BNP Paribas set a $6,100.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Booking from $5,640.00 to $6,050.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6,149.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,820.35, for a total transaction of $2,135,415.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,775,572.85. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 11.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,388 shares of company stock valued at $17,629,822 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,301.64 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $4,096.23 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.87 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $5,061.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5,379.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $83.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Booking 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.