Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $15.72 Million Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments increased its Booking Holdings stake by 2,093.4% in the second quarter, ending with 88,197 shares valued at $15.72 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with Booking carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $235.72. Recent targets range from $215 to $240.
• Booking exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $2.54 and revenue of $7.35 billion, up 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.

Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,093.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,197 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 84,176 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $15,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Booking by 1,668.5% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,823 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,929,000 after acquiring an additional 10,211 shares during the period. Rare Wolf Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,611.5% during the second quarter. Rare Wolf Capital LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,537.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 4,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 3,857 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,619.4% during the second quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 4,215 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 4,060 shares during the period. Finally, Cascade Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Gordon Haskett raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $240.00 target price on Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Booking Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.84. The stock has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $55.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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