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

Metropolis Capital Ltd lowered its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,273,817 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,829 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises approximately 10.2% of Metropolis Capital Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Metropolis Capital Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $370,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 14.2% during the third quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 2,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 1.9% during the third quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 36.8% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 2,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Booking by 6.7% in the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in Booking by 23.4% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $188.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Melius Research set a $225.00 target price on Booking in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.71.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 84,550 shares of company stock worth $17,426,864 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

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

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

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.