Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Has $56.36 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management increased its Booking Holdings stake by 2,720.6% in the second quarter, acquiring 305,012 additional shares. Its position was valued at approximately $56.36 million, while institutional investors collectively owned 92.42% of BKNG.
• Analysts maintained a generally bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $236.45. Recent targets ranged from $188 to $247.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $2.54 per share and revenue of $7.35 billion, up 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, while insiders have sold shares worth about $16.1 million over the past 90 days.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,720.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 316,223 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 305,012 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $56,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 3,550.0% during the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $242.00 target price on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.45.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $154.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $226.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $192.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.64.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% 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 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

About Booking

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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