Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 223,141 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $39,773,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% in the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,238,000 after buying an additional 12,130 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Booking by 1,663.9% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,115,000 after acquiring an additional 27,071 shares in the last quarter. Rit Capital Partners PLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $51,396,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Booking by 2,643.0% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 527,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,008,000 after acquiring an additional 508,197 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised their price target on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. 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 quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s KAYAK brand reported that international airfares for U.K. travelers in September and October are averaging 26% below peak-season levels. Cheaper “shoulder-season” travel could encourage additional bookings and support demand across Booking’s accommodation and travel platforms. KAYAK shoulder-season travel research
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive. Booking’s latest quarterly revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion and earnings exceeded analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a broadly favorable view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $235.72, above recent trading levels. Booking growth-stock analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually, representing an approximately 0.8% yield. The payout signals ongoing shareholder returns but is modest and is unlikely to materially affect the stock’s near-term direction.
• Negative Sentiment: Booking Vice President Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares worth approximately $10.4 million, reducing his position by 11.77%. Director Vanessa Ames Wittman separately sold 375 shares for about $79,000. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as bearish signals; Millones still retains roughly $77.9 million in BKNG stock. Booking insider share sales

Booking Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $213.00 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80. The company has a market capitalization of $160.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $186.78 and its 200 day moving average is $177.12.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend 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.