Renaissance Technologies LLC Trims Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,996 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $46,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Booking by 133.3% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial began coverage on Booking in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price objective on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,042.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,768.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,716.69. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $37.62 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.