Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $115.78 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,548.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 649,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 625,076 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.08% of Booking worth $115,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $212.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $180.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.61. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BKNG. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. HSBC reduced their price objective on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,100,500. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,075. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.