Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Cuts Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. decreased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Booking were worth $57,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,954,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,718,390,000 after purchasing an additional 12,456 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Booking by 4.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 514,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,865,949,000 after purchasing an additional 21,969 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 3.1% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 358,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,421,069,000 after purchasing an additional 10,889 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 29.2% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,049,000 after purchasing an additional 43,743 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,322,600,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG traded up $66.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $4,815.26. 34,445 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 246,428. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4,136.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,886.98. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,888.45 and a 12-month high of $4,856.60. The company has a market cap of $159.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its 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 net margin of 21.85% and a negative return on equity of 166.06%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $37.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BKNG shares. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus downgraded Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,940.00 to $4,510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Booking from $4,500.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Twelve 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking 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.