Arizona State Retirement System Buys 236,684 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,679.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 245,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 236,684 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Booking were worth $43,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 3,475.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3,550.0% during the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. First Financial Corp IN increased its position in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its position in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, August 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $610,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,935,432. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Trading Down 6.7%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $12.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $180.30. The company had a trading volume of 10,875,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,162,280. The stock has a market cap of $135.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $194.53 and its 200-day moving average is $178.71.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Booking’s payout ratio 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.