Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Booking Holdings by 7.1%, acquiring an additional 228 shares, bringing its total holdings to 3,454 shares worth approximately $15.9 million.
• Booking recently reported earnings of $55.40 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 16% revenue increase compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 5th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,454 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Booking were worth $15,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Mechanics Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,454.29 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5,558.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $5,123.66. The company has a market cap of $176.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.93, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,592.28 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The company's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $41.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking's payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $5,750.00 target price (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,781.04.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.

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