Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Purchases 488,300 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt increased its Booking Holdings stake by 1,900%, purchasing 488,300 additional shares to own 514,000 shares valued at approximately $91.6 million. Institutional investors now hold 92.42% of the company.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, with revenue up 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $235.72 price target. However, insiders sold 89,625 shares worth approximately $15.9 million over the past 90 days.

Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 1,900.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 514,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 488,300 shares during the quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt owned 0.07% of Booking worth $91,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Booking by 3,550.0% during the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. First Financial Corp IN boosted its holdings in Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $212.06 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $184.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.04. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $55.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 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 sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC dropped their price objective on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Gordon Haskett lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays set a $210.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.72.

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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