10,829 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Metropolis Capital Ltd

Metropolis Capital Ltd lessened its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,273,817 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,829 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for 10.2% of Metropolis Capital Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Metropolis Capital Ltd owned about 0.30% of Booking worth $370,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $105,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $123,000. Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Booking by 9.3% during the first quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 659 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,775,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Poehling Capital Management INC. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 24.3% during the first quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC. now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 6.2% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 957 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. Wedbush increased their price target on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.71.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $1.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $163.84. 3,268,744 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,129,372. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.57. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 73,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,935,432. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 84,550 shares of company stock worth $17,426,864 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant-reservation company that connects consumers with travel providers through digital platforms and mobile applications. Its services include accommodations, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages, restaurant reservations and other travel-related offerings.

The company operates a portfolio of well-known brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and Kayak-associated travel services.