Sienna Gestion Sells 17 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Sienna Gestion reduced its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for 1.1% of Sienna Gestion’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Booking were worth $11,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $401,371,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in Booking by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $113,827,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 18,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,234,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in Booking by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in Booking by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,518,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking 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 completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,028.30 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,769.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,718.87. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,733.04 and a 12-month high of $4,144.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $37.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $3,590.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.