Banque Transatlantique SA Buys 7,068 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Banque Transatlantique SA dramatically increased its position in Booking Holdings during the fourth quarter, ending with 7,084 shares valued at about $37.9 million. Booking now represents 0.9% of the firm’s holdings and is its 23rd largest position.
• Booking reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.14 beating estimates and revenue of $5.53 billion slightly topping forecasts. Revenue rose 16.2% year over year, and analysts expect full-year EPS of 10.44.
• The stock has seen mixed signals from insiders and analysts: several insiders sold shares recently, while Wall Street’s consensus remains Moderate Buy with a target price of about $227.14. Booking also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, yielding about 1.0% annually.

Banque Transatlantique SA increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 44,175.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,084 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,068 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises 0.9% of Banque Transatlantique SA's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Banque Transatlantique SA's holdings in Booking were worth $37,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tempo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $778,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $444,000. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $482,000. SG Trading Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $2,753,000. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This 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 three months, insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock valued at $13,545,706. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Trading Up 0.1%

BKNG opened at $171.78 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $233.58. The company has a market cap of $133.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $169.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.60.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Booking from $260.00 to $237.40 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (up from $244.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $180.00) 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-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.14.

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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