Formuepleje A S Invests $1.50 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Formuepleje A S acquired 8,437 Booking Holdings shares worth approximately $1.50 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in adjusted EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, up 8.1% year over year. The company also announced a $0.42 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 0.9%.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $236.70, although company insiders have sold $16.9 million of stock over the past 90 days under pre-arranged trading plans.

Formuepleje A S acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 8,437 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,504,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 25.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Booking by 50.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $193.29 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $226.10. The firm has a market cap of $145.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $194.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.60.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on BKNG. Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.70.

Booking 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BKNG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report).

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