Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Purchased by Bellecapital International Ltd.

Key Points

• Bellecapital International increased its Booking Holdings stake by 2,817.2% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 97,405 shares valued at approximately $17.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72. Recent targets range from $220 to $274.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, with revenue up 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% annual yield.

Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,817.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,405 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 94,066 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises about 2.8% of Bellecapital International Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Bellecapital International Ltd.'s holdings in Booking were worth $17,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,396,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Booking by 1,663.9% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,115,000 after buying an additional 27,071 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $210,352,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Booking by 862.0% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,167,890,000 after acquiring an additional 195,411 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BKNG shares. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $212.06 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $184.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.04.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm 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%. Booking's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Booking's payout ratio is 18.58%.

About Booking

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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