Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Raises Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Mn Services Vermogensbeheer increased its Booking Holdings stake by 22.6% in the third quarter, adding 28,659 shares to reach 155,509 shares valued at approximately $25.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Booking receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $235.38, although Wells Fargo downgraded its target to $190 and kept a “reduce” rating.
• Booking reported quarterly revenue of $7.35 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.54, exceeding consensus estimates, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annual yield.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 22.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,509 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,659 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in Booking were worth $25,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BKNG. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "reduce" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.38.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock worth $17,182,274 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $159.97 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $220.81. The company has a market capitalization of $120.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50-day moving average is $186.93 and its 200 day moving average is $178.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.

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