RFG Advisory LLC Purchases 8,104 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• RFG Advisory increased its Booking Holdings stake by 2,088.7% in the second quarter, purchasing 8,104 additional shares and ending the period with a position worth approximately $1.51 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Booking Holdings exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, with revenue up 8.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $236.70.
• Company insiders sold 81,550 shares worth $16.9 million over the past 90 days, while Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 1.0% yield.

RFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,088.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,492 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,104 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $1,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Booking during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,935,432. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 81,550 shares of company stock worth $16,922,744 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $173.92 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $193.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.Booking's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking's payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $188.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.70.

About Booking

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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