Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Increases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its Booking Holdings stake by 2,119.3% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 81,625 shares worth approximately $14.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of Booking’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72. Booking recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue.
• Booking shares opened at $212.06, while insiders sold 89,625 shares worth about $15.9 million in the last quarter under pre-arranged trading plans. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% annualized yield.

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,119.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,625 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 77,947 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Booking were worth $14,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Gordon Haskett lifted their price target on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a 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 given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.6%

BKNG opened at $212.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $184.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.84. 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 released 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. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking's payout ratio is presently 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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