Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Rathbones Group PLC

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, now owning approximately 49,739 shares valued at around $229 million.
• Booking reported earnings of $55.40 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and showcasing a 16% year-over-year revenue increase to $6.80 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60, reflecting an annual yield of 0.7%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th.

Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,739 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,439 shares during the period. Booking makes up 1.1% of Rathbones Group PLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.15% of Booking worth $229,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Mechanics Financial Corp bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $6,200.00 price target (up previously from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $6,700.00 price target (up previously from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,781.04.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $30.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5,454.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 155,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,535. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5,562.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,115.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,592.28 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $41.90 earnings per share. Booking's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.