Cetera Trust Company N.A Invests $1.40 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,395,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at about $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,370,455,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $472,723,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday. Wedbush upped their price target on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upped their target price on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company 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 issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.45.

Booking Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $213.36 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $230.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.09. The company has a market capitalization of $160.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.