Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 54.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 47,684 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.43% of Booking worth $727,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $171.78 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $169.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.43. The stock has a market cap of $133.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Gordon Haskett lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $272.00 to $264.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays set a $210.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.14.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.