39,205 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Purchased by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Booking Holdings, purchasing 39,205 shares valued at about $210.4 million in the fourth quarter, giving it roughly 0.12% ownership.
• Booking reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.14 versus the $1.08 consensus and revenue of $5.53 billion, up 16.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally constructive but have trimmed some targets: Booking has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a $227.14 average price target, while several firms recently lowered their targets; the stock was trading at $167.38, down 1.4%.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 39,205 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $210,352,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned approximately 0.12% of Booking at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 510 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,735,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $3,730,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 1,142 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,118,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its position in shares of Booking by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 825 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,418,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Susquehanna set a $260.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Piper Sandler set a $195.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.14.

Booking Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $167.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $170.45 and a 200 day moving average of $186.37. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $233.58. The firm has a market cap of $129.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking's payout ratio is 22.11%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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