Giverny Capital Inc. Buys 501,547 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Giverny Capital sharply increased its Booking Holdings stake by purchasing 501,547 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 522,664 shares valued at approximately $93.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Booking receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $236.70. Recent targets range from $215 to $250.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, with revenue up 8.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 0.9% annualized yield.

Giverny Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,375.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 522,664 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 501,547 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for about 3.2% of Giverny Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Giverny Capital Inc. owned about 0.07% of Booking worth $93,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Booking by 3,475.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Booking in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 on Monday, August 17th. The shares were 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.70.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $193.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $194.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.60. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $226.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during 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 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 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors 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 yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

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.

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