Nykredit A S Purchases Shares of 346,887 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 346,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $61,829,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.70.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,935,432. The trade was a 3.93% 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 have sold a total of 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $199.60 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $226.10. The firm has a market cap of $149.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $193.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.12.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Key Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt initiated coverage with a Buy/Strong Buy rating and a $245 price target, implying roughly 23% upside from the referenced share price. The firm considers Booking one of the best-positioned online travel agencies despite industry challenges. Rosenblatt sees Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency
• Positive Sentiment: Recent operating results support the bullish analyst view. Booking’s latest reported quarter exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, with revenue increasing 8.1% year over year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum-focused coverage was favorable. Zacks identified Booking as a strong momentum stock, noting its recent performance relative to the broader market. This may encourage continued interest from momentum-oriented investors. Why Booking is a strong momentum stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Priceline CEO Brigit Zimmerman discussed travel trends ahead of the Labor Day weekend. The commentary could provide insight into travel demand, but the available report does not indicate whether the trends were specifically positive or negative for Booking. Priceline CEO discusses travel trends
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders reported stock sales. Director Robert J. Mylod Jr. sold 1,000 shares for approximately $200,000, while insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares for about $610,440. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as signals of deteriorating business prospects. Booking insider stock sales

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.