BNP Paribas Buys 199,878 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

BNP Paribas lifted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,494.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,890 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 199,878 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 1.0% of BNP Paribas' portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. BNP Paribas' holdings in Booking were worth $37,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.45.

Booking Stock Up 1.5%

BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $192.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.64. The company has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $226.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking's payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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