GTS Securities LLC Buys 2,615 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

GTS Securities LLC boosted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,233.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $1,370,455,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 2,525.5% in 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 Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $992,026,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $205.63 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $226.10. The company has a market cap of $154.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $192.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.64.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at $3,404,063. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $188.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. 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. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.45.

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.