Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Bought by Fulton Bank N.A.

Key Points

• Fulton Bank N.A. increased its Booking Holdings stake by 2,318.4% in the second quarter, owning 16,034 shares valued at approximately $2.86 billion. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold 92.42% of BKNG shares.
• Booking reported quarterly earnings of $2.54 per share, beating estimates by $0.11, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion. The company also declared a $0.42 quarterly dividend, representing a 0.8% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.72. Recent insider activity was negative, with executives selling 69,625 shares worth about $11.65 million over the past 90 days.

Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,318.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,034 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,371 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.'s holdings in Booking were worth $2,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,396,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $210,352,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Booking by 862.0% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,167,890,000 after buying an additional 195,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 64,908 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $347,604,000 after acquiring an additional 11,042 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of 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 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The stock 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 released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS 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 analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% 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 90 days, insiders sold 69,625 shares of company stock worth $11,652,075. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. HSBC decreased their price target on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, 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 report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.72.

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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