Swedbank AB Purchases 3,175 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Swedbank AB raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,175 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Booking were worth $169,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,055,006,000 after buying an additional 23,159 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in Booking by 191,965.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Booking by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,685,520,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Booking by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,173,899,000 after acquiring an additional 128,700 shares during the period. Finally, Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in Booking by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 732,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,920,535,000 after purchasing an additional 56,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $182.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,272,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,991,408. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $233.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $168.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.33. The stock has a market cap of $141.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Gordon Haskett increased their price objective on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.11.

About Booking

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.