Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock: New York Life Investment Management LLC Cuts Position

New York Life Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,405 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $17,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Booking by 2,674.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,026,348,000 after purchasing an additional 37,999,915 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Booking by 1,497.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after purchasing an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth about $1,691,186,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth about $1,370,455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 57,425 shares of company stock valued at $11,783,564 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $160.21 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $164.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.46. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.28 and a 1-year high of $220.81. The company has a market cap of $119.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.17.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.55 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 89.54% and a net margin of 25.52%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $99.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Melius Research set a $225.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Truist Financial set a $216.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $205.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.35.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc. is an online travel company that connects travelers with accommodations and other travel services. Through its digital platforms, customers can search for and book hotels, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, attractions and other travel experiences. The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. Its services span accommodation reservations, travel search and comparison, car rentals, and restaurant reservations.