Vise Technologies Inc. Buys New Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Vise Technologies bought a new 34,425-share stake in Booking Holdings during the second quarter, valued at approximately $6.14 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of BKNG shares.
• Booking reported quarterly EPS of $2.54 and revenue of $7.35 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue increased 8.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $235.72.
• Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.68 payout and a 0.8% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold 140,050 shares worth approximately $26.3 million over the past three months.

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 34,425 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,136,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth approximately $1,370,455,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 23,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% 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 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.72.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $209.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80. The company's fifty day moving average is $187.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.15.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Booking Company 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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