Nykredit A S Takes $59.15 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S acquired 331,866 Booking Holdings shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $59.15 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company, with several major firms significantly increasing or initiating positions.
• Booking reported quarterly EPS of $2.54, exceeding estimates of $2.43, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% yield.
• Shares recently traded down 1.5% to $167.90, below the analyst consensus target of $236.98. Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish, while insiders sold a combined 83,050 shares worth $17.18 million during the last quarter.

Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 331,866 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $59,152,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Booking during the second quarter valued at $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,370,455,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 2,525.5% in the 2nd 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 worth $1,087,597,000 after purchasing an additional 5,869,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,833.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 5,923,013 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,055,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,721,071 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $167.90 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $225.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $193.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.20. The stock has a market cap of $126.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07.

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 negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company 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 earned $55.40 earnings per share. Booking's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,935,432. The trade was a 3.93% 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 have sold a total of 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $188.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Cowen raised Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.98.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.

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