Saudi Central Bank Acquires 53,633 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Saudi Central Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4,507.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 54,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,633 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Booking were worth $9,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,370,455,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,525.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,101,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,087,597,000 after acquiring an additional 5,869,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $992,026,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at $14,935,432. The trade was a 3.93% 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, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,800,000. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their position. 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 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $240.00 target price on Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on Booking in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.70.

Booking Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $193.29 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $194.31 and a 200 day moving average of $178.51. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $226.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Booking 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.