Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC Grows Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,544.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,052 shares during the period. Booking accounts for 1.0% of Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 81,550 shares of company stock worth $16,922,744. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.70.

More Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt initiated coverage with a Buy/Strong Buy rating and a $245 price target, implying roughly 23% upside from the referenced share price. The firm considers Booking one of the best-positioned online travel agencies despite industry challenges. Rosenblatt sees Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency
• Positive Sentiment: Recent operating results support the bullish analyst view. Booking’s latest reported quarter exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, with revenue increasing 8.1% year over year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum-focused coverage was favorable. Zacks identified Booking as a strong momentum stock, noting its recent performance relative to the broader market. This may encourage continued interest from momentum-oriented investors. Why Booking is a strong momentum stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Priceline CEO Brigit Zimmerman discussed travel trends ahead of the Labor Day weekend. The commentary could provide insight into travel demand, but the available report does not indicate whether the trends were specifically positive or negative for Booking. Priceline CEO discusses travel trends
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders reported stock sales. Director Robert J. Mylod Jr. sold 1,000 shares for approximately $200,000, while insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares for about $610,440. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as signals of deteriorating business prospects. Booking insider stock sales

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $199.60 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $226.10. The company has a market cap of $149.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $193.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.12.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.