Federated Hermes Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 949 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned 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 price target of $4,064.21.

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

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,017.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,771.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,720.94. The firm has a market cap of $134.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,144.32.

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 the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $37.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

About Booking

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.