SVB Wealth LLC Acquires 26,201 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

SVB Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,211.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,201 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at about $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% in the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,238,000 after purchasing an additional 12,130 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1,663.9% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,071 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 2,643.0% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 527,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,008,000 after purchasing an additional 508,197 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,935,432. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BKNG. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $188.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities began coverage on Booking in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.70.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $180.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.72. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The stock has a market cap of $135.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

More Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Travel demand remains relatively resilient despite geopolitical conflicts and a slowing economy, supporting the longer-term outlook for Booking’s lodging and flight-booking businesses. A recent commentary also described BKNG as a potentially attractive travel stock for investors. Booking Holdings Stock: A Travel Stock to Buy Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analysis continues to characterize Booking as a growth stock, while its latest reported quarter showed revenue growth and earnings above analyst expectations, providing fundamental support despite the recent weakness. Why Booking Holdings Is a Strong Growth Stock

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.