Trust Co of Kansas Purchases 28,980 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Trust Co of Kansas significantly increased its Booking Holdings position, purchasing 28,980 additional shares in the second quarter for a total of 29,898 shares valued at approximately $5.33 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 27 Buy ratings, one Strong Buy and eight Holds; Booking has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.72.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, up 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, while insiders sold 89,625 shares worth about $15.9 million over the past 90 days.

Trust Co of Kansas raised its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3,156.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,898 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,980 shares during the period. Booking comprises 2.7% of Trust Co of Kansas' portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Trust Co of Kansas' holdings in Booking were worth $5,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,055,006,000 after purchasing an additional 23,159 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in Booking by 191,965.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,685,520,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Booking by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,173,899,000 after purchasing an additional 128,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Booking by 1,497.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $236.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $231.80. The company has a market capitalization of $159.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.04.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

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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