Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Bought by Doliver Advisors LP

Key Points

• Institutional investors increased exposure to Booking Holdings: Doliver Advisors raised its stake by 2,214.2% in the second quarter, while several other funds made similarly large purchases. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations: The company reported $2.54 in earnings per share and $7.35 billion in revenue, surpassing consensus estimates, with revenue up 8.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: Booking has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $235.72, compared with a recent share price of $212.87. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, yielding 0.8% annually.

Doliver Advisors LP raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,214.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,460 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,008 shares during the quarter. Doliver Advisors LP's holdings in Booking were worth $1,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BKNG. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its position 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 valued at $5,002,000 after buying an additional 26,606 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Booking by 2,548.6% during the second 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 period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 2,317.1% in the second quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,230 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 4,055 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 2,336.8% in the second quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,882 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,078,000 after acquiring an additional 21,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BFI Infinity Ltd. increased its position in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. BFI Infinity Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 0.0%

BKNG opened at $212.87 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $181.21 and its 200-day moving average is $176.87. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. 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 earned $55.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source