Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers increased its Booking Holdings stake by 248.8% in the second quarter, acquiring 16,617 additional shares. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $212.26.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in adjusted EPS versus $2.43 expected and $7.35 billion in revenue versus $7.19 billion forecast. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 248.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,297 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 16,617 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $4,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 25.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Booking by 50.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at $179,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Gordon Haskett raised their target price on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $242.00 target price on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $212.26 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80. The stock has a market cap of $159.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $182.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.92.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for 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 quarter last year, the company 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 Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This represents a 6.25% 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. Insiders sold a total of 69,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,075 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Company 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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