ING Groep NV Has $80.78 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

ING Groep NV reduced its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,312 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Booking were worth $80,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $16,055,006,000 after buying an additional 23,159 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $3,271,041,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 6.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 405,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,187,269,000 after buying an additional 25,522 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 286,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,549,202,000 after buying an additional 12,897 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Booking by 4.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 234,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,268,127,000 after buying an additional 9,398 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $165.84 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.09. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $233.58. The firm has a market cap of $128.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus increased their price target on Booking from $188.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price target on Booking from $256.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.14.

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.