BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC Raises Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC increased its Booking Holdings stake by 8,087.1% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 12,690 shares valued at approximately $2.26 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Booking reported quarterly earnings of $2.54 per share and revenue of $7.35 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $236.45.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold 77,550 shares worth about $16.1 million during the latest quarter under pre-arranged trading plans.

BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 8,087.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,690 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,535 shares during the period. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $2,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% in the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 12,130 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $51,396,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $205.63 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.18 and a 200 day moving average of $177.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $226.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.45.

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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