Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,184 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Booking were worth $376,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Booking by 133.3% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $3,979.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3,767.65 and a 200 day moving average of $3,712.87. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,144.32. The firm has a market cap of $133.38 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s 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 value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the 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 owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush upped their price objective on Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

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.