Truist Financial Corp Purchases 623 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Booking were worth $172,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 150.0% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 400.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,514 shares in the company, valued at $7,570,000. This trade represents a 11.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total value of $80,430.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,124. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,324 shares of company stock valued at $17,190,323 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.9%

BKNG stock opened at $5,153.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.09 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $4,096.23 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5,204.48 and a 200 day moving average of $5,326.70.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The business had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $83.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Argus raised their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,433.00 to $5,407.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho set a $6,000.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised their target price on shares of Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6,205.88.

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.