OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Invests $2.23 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,228,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $209.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.15. The company has a market cap of $157.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Barclays set a $210.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% 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 sold a total of 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.