Wealthfront Advisers LLC Takes $10.27 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 57,639 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,274,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank of Omaha bought a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,297,000. HS Management Partners LLC bought a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth about $10,619,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth about $45,000. RHS Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth about $282,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth about $2,813,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore set a $245.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of BKNG opened at $213.00 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The stock has a market cap of $160.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $186.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.12.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during 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%. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $55.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

More Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s KAYAK brand reported that international airfares for U.K. travelers in September and October are averaging 26% below peak-season levels. Cheaper “shoulder-season” travel could encourage additional bookings and support demand across Booking’s accommodation and travel platforms. KAYAK shoulder-season travel research
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive. Booking’s latest quarterly revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion and earnings exceeded analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a broadly favorable view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $235.72, above recent trading levels. Booking growth-stock analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually, representing an approximately 0.8% yield. The payout signals ongoing shareholder returns but is modest and is unlikely to materially affect the stock’s near-term direction.
• Negative Sentiment: Booking Vice President Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares worth approximately $10.4 million, reducing his position by 11.77%. Director Vanessa Ames Wittman separately sold 375 shares for about $79,000. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as bearish signals; Millones still retains roughly $77.9 million in BKNG stock. Booking insider share sales

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% 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 sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.