Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Bought by Parthenon LLC

Parthenon LLC boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 8.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 103,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Booking accounts for about 1.8% of Parthenon LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $16,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. MBL Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at about $348,000. Sepio Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth about $486,000. WP Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 6.8% during the third quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 17,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth approximately $228,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 27.8% in the third quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,800,000. This represents a 6.67% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 84,550 shares of company stock valued at $17,426,864. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded down $5.27 on Friday, reaching $155.83. 5,931,081 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,982,027. The company has a market capitalization of $117.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.13. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $220.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $176.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.30.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.71.

Booking 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.