Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Decreases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. reduced its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 372 shares during the period. Booking accounts for 1.4% of Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $24,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Booking by 1.2% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,789,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Booking by 6.3% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,928,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its position in Booking by 66.7% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 10 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in Booking by 3.5% during the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC raised its position in Booking by 55.6% during the third quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,749.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,136.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,883.88. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,756.39 and a 12-month high of $4,856.60.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 166.06% and a net margin of 21.85%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $37.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus cut Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $5,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, B. Riley upped their target price on Booking from $4,650.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,680.18.

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.