Aureus Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Aureus Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 85.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 512 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,112 shares during the quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,055,006,000 after buying an additional 23,159 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,685,520,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Booking by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,173,899,000 after acquiring an additional 128,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of Booking by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 732,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,920,535,000 after acquiring an additional 56,999 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $177.86 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $137.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The company’s 50 day moving average is $171.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.43.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. Piper Sandler set a $195.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore set a $245.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays set a $210.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.05.

Booking Profile

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.