Norges Bank Acquires New Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Booking Holdings, buying 610,801 shares valued at about $3.27 billion and ending with roughly 1.9% ownership.
• Several Booking insiders have sold stock recently, including VP Peter J. Millones and CEO Glenn D. Fogel; insiders sold a total of 97,076 shares worth about $16.4 million over the last 90 days.
• Booking reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $1.14 EPS versus estimates of $1.08, while revenue rose 16.2% year over year to $5.53 billion. Analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $227.14.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 610,801 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,271,041,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.90% of Booking at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Booking in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays set a $210.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $244.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.14.

Booking Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $167.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $233.58. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $170.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.37.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Booking's payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

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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