Corient Private Wealth LP Raises Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth increased its Booking Holdings position by 2,186% in the second quarter, ending with 585,708 shares valued at approximately $104.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Booking holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $236.70; several firms recently raised or set targets between $240 and $250.
• Booking beat quarterly expectations with $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, up 8.1% year over year, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% yield.

Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,186.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 585,708 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 560,086 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP owned 0.08% of Booking worth $104,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Booking by 419,256.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 214,651,580 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,259,498,000 after buying an additional 214,600,394 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter worth $1,370,455,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 2,525.5% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,101,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,087,597,000 after purchasing an additional 5,869,459 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on Booking in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Argus lifted their price objective on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research 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, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,935,432. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% 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 sold 81,550 shares of company stock worth $16,922,744 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $173.92 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $193.97 and its 200 day moving average is $178.85. The company has a market cap of $130.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

About Booking

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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