Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 67.3%, owning 3,048 shares valued at $14,042,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Booking Holdings recently reported earnings of $55.40 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 16.0% year-over-year revenue increase to $6.80 billion.
• The company declared a $9.60 quarterly dividend, payable on September 30th, reflecting a 0.7% yield and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Prudential PLC lifted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 67.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,048 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Booking were worth $14,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP boosted its holdings in Booking by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 12 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.2% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.7% during the first quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $30.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5,454.29. 157,977 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,535. The company's 50-day moving average is $5,562.05 and its 200-day moving average is $5,115.58. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,592.28 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,781.04.

About Booking

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.