Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 5,884 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Booking Holdings by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,884 shares and bringing its total holding to 147,419 shares valued at about $789.5 million.
• Booking reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.14 beating estimates and revenue of $5.53 billion slightly above forecasts; revenue also rose 16.2% year over year.
• Despite the earnings beat, insider selling and mixed analyst sentiment remain in focus, with recent stock sales by executives and a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $227.14 average price target.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 147,419 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,884 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.46% of Booking worth $789,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $175.72 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $169.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $233.58.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid 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 is Friday, June 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.11%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Booking from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $260.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.14.

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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