Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $40.40 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 563 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $40,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Booking in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Delta Asset Management LLC TN acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Booking from $2,800.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,000.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. TheStreet raised Booking from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on Booking from $2,950.00 to $3,325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,130.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,137.29.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $3,150.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3,016.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2,754.72. The stock has a market cap of $112.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.35. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,616.85 and a 52-week high of $3,251.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.16, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $37.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $28.84 by $8.78. The business had revenue of $5.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. Booking had a return on equity of 285.21% and a net margin of 23.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $19.08 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 144.28 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David I. Goulden sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,857.23, for a total transaction of $1,571,476.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,954 shares in the company, valued at $39,869,787.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 62 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,175.00, for a total value of $196,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,752,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO David I. Goulden sold 550 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,857.23, for a total value of $1,571,476.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,954 shares in the company, valued at $39,869,787.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,012 shares of company stock worth $9,214,984. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.