First Eagle Investment Management LLC Invests $876.32 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management acquired 4.92 million Booking Holdings shares worth approximately $876.3 million, while institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Booking reported quarterly EPS of $2.54 and revenue of $7.35 billion, exceeding analyst estimates; revenue increased 8.1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $236.70, compared with the stock’s opening price of $193.29.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,916,494 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $876,316,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.65% of Booking at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Booking by 419,256.0% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 214,600,394 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,370,455,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,087,597,000 after acquiring an additional 5,869,459 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,800,000. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.70.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $193.29 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $226.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $194.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.60.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source