Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Bought by Cardinal Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased sharply: Cardinal Capital Management raised its Booking Holdings stake by 2,461.2% in the second quarter to 206,024 shares valued at approximately $36.7 million. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations: The company reported adjusted EPS of $2.54 versus the $2.43 consensus estimate and revenue of $7.35 billion, up 8.1% year over year and above forecasts.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: BKNG has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.72, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,461.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 206,024 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 197,980 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $36,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 2,669.0% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 14,925 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 14,386 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 2,475 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP raised its holdings in Booking by 2,214.2% during the second quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 10,460 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 10,008 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its holdings in Booking by 1,824.8% during the second quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 28,064 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,002,000 after purchasing an additional 26,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Booking by 2,548.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 649,602 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $115,785,000 after buying an additional 625,076 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,075. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.0%

BKNG stock opened at $212.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.87.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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