12,362 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Bought by W1M Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• W1M Asset Management initiated a Booking Holdings position by purchasing 12,362 shares valued at approximately $2.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with Booking receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $235.72. Recent targets range from $220 to $245.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in adjusted earnings per share and $7.35 billion in revenue, up 8.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.

W1M Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,362 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,203,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in Booking by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,019,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in Booking by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 53 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,548,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,404,063. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Gordon Haskett upped their price target on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $236.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus lifted their price target on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $209.62 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $188.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.00. The firm has a market cap of $157.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company's businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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