Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group acquired 27,832 Booking Holdings shares worth approximately $4.96 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $235.72; several firms recently raised targets to $245–$250.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations with $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, while insiders sold $15.87 million of stock over the past 90 days. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 27,832 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,961,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Booking by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Booking by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 377 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,019,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 53 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $204.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $153.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $184.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.85. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $7.35 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Booking Company Profile

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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