Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Has $655,000 Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,433.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,674 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares during the quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the second quarter worth about $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,370,455,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,525.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,101,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,087,597,000 after acquiring an additional 5,869,459 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $992,026,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% 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. Insiders sold 80,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,722,744 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $245 price target, implying approximately 25% upside from the referenced share price. The firm views Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency despite industry challenges, providing a potentially meaningful catalyst for the shares. Rosenblatt sees Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks characterized Booking as a strong momentum stock based on its style-score framework, reinforcing the case that recent price and fundamental trends could attract momentum-oriented investors. Why Booking is a strong momentum stock
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank brokers raised their earnings estimates for Booking, suggesting improving expectations for the company’s future profitability. Higher forecasts can support valuation, although the article provides no details on the size or rationale of the revisions. Erste Group Bank lifts Booking earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Priceline CEO Brigit Zimmerman discussed travel trends ahead of the Labor Day weekend. The interview may offer insight into demand and booking patterns, but the available report does not specify whether the commentary was favorable or unfavorable for Booking. Priceline CEO discusses travel trends
• Negative Sentiment: Booking has lagged the broader market this year, which could weigh on investor sentiment and highlights concerns about online-travel-sector growth or valuation. Separately, director Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares worth about $610,440 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; the planned nature of the transaction reduces its signaling value, but it remains a modest negative headline.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.70.

Booking Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $195.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $147.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $226.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.91.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 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.