Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Position Boosted by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors increased its Booking Holdings stake by 3,879.5% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 52,410 shares valued at $9.34 million. Institutional investors now own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Booking reported quarterly revenue of $7.35 billion and EPS of $2.54, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $236.70.
• Travel demand remains resilient, but the European General Court’s rejection of Booking’s challenge to the ETraveli acquisition is a setback for the company’s expansion strategy.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3,879.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,410 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 51,093 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $9,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 3,475.0% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3,550.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. First Financial Corp IN increased its position in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Travel demand remains resilient despite geopolitical conflicts and a slowing macroeconomic environment, supporting the long-term outlook for Booking’s core lodging and travel businesses. Booking Holdings Stock: A Travel Stock to Buy Right Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking presented at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference and Citi’s Global TMT Conference. The available reports are conference transcripts and do not identify a major new catalyst for the stock. Goldman Sachs Conference Transcript Citi Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: A September short-interest update reported zero shares short, unchanged from the prior period, with a zero-day days-to-cover ratio. Because the figures show no measurable short position, the update provides little directional information.
• Negative Sentiment: The European General Court sided with EU regulators in rejecting Booking’s challenge to the veto of its ETraveli acquisition. The decision ends Booking’s effort to complete the deal and represents a setback to its strategic expansion plans. Judges Side With EU Regulators in Blocking Booking’s Acquisition of ETraveli

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $174.33 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $194.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $225.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.

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