Nykredit A S Buys New Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 346,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $61,829,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,800,000. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 Booking stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $199.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $226.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $193.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.12.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 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 firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Booking

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush raised their price target on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.70.

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.