Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Takes $42.38 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 10,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,381,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 5.0% in the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,389,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of Booking by 9.2% during the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 4,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,388,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in shares of Booking by 141.5% during the first quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 128 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Mill Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.1% in the first quarter. Mill Capital Management LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,087,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at about $985,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $184.61 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $231.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Booking from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus set a $210.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.