Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Wellington Management increased its Booking Holdings stake by 2,066.5% in the second quarter, acquiring 538,225 additional shares for a total position valued at about $100.6 million. Institutional investors now own 92.42% of the company.
• Booking reported quarterly earnings of $2.54 per share and revenue of $7.35 billion, beating analyst estimates, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year. The company also announced a $0.42 quarterly dividend, representing a 0.9% annualized yield.
• Wall Street maintains a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $236.70 versus the referenced share price near $195.69. However, the stock has lagged the broader market, and insiders have sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,066.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 564,270 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 538,225 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.08% of Booking worth $100,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth about $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,370,455,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $992,026,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth about $770,673,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $245 price target, implying approximately 25% upside from the referenced share price. The firm views Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency despite industry challenges, providing a potentially meaningful catalyst for the shares. Rosenblatt sees Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks characterized Booking as a strong momentum stock based on its style-score framework, reinforcing the case that recent price and fundamental trends could attract momentum-oriented investors. Why Booking is a strong momentum stock
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank brokers raised their earnings estimates for Booking, suggesting improving expectations for the company’s future profitability. Higher forecasts can support valuation, although the article provides no details on the size or rationale of the revisions. Erste Group Bank lifts Booking earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Priceline CEO Brigit Zimmerman discussed travel trends ahead of the Labor Day weekend. The interview may offer insight into demand and booking patterns, but the available report does not specify whether the commentary was favorable or unfavorable for Booking. Priceline CEO discusses travel trends
• Negative Sentiment: Booking has lagged the broader market this year, which could weigh on investor sentiment and highlights concerns about online-travel-sector growth or valuation. Separately, director Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares worth about $610,440 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; the planned nature of the transaction reduces its signaling value, but it remains a modest negative headline.

Booking Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $195.69 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $193.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.91. The company has a market cap of $147.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $226.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BKNG. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 a total of 80,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,722,744 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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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