University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Trims Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lessened its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 9.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 954 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises 0.7% of University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth approximately $401,371,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $220,080,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Booking by 4,565.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,143,000 after purchasing an additional 61,268 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its stake in Booking by 96.3% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 113,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $403,233,000 after purchasing an additional 55,716 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 29.2% in 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 buying an additional 43,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,100.99 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,272.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3,799.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,763.72. The firm has a market cap of $139.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

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.