24,013 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Bought by First National Bank of Omaha

Key Points

• First National Bank of Omaha acquired 24,013 Booking Holdings shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $4.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Wall Street remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $235.72, above the reported share price of $208.20.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations with $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, up 8.1% year over year, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,013 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,297,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $1,370,455,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $16,055,006,000 after buying an additional 23,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BKNG. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Gordon Haskett increased their target price on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore set a $245.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of BKNG opened at $208.20 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.06. The stock has a market cap of $156.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. 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 18.58%.

Booking Profile

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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