Cardano Risk Management B.V. Grows Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,215.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 478,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 458,084 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V.’s holdings in Booking were worth $85,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Everpar Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 2,485.5% in the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 2,398.5% during the 2nd quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,358,000 after acquiring an additional 18,085 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 2,524.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 12,822 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 2,660.3% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 6,172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday. One 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.69.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 69,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,075 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $214.42 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.56. The company has a market cap of $161.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $55.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.43 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Booking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Booking reported adjusted earnings of $2.54 per share, above the $2.43 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion, surpassing forecasts of $7.19 billion. The results suggested resilient travel demand and helped support the stock’s advance.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism strengthened: UBS raised its price target to $274, while Wedbush, Benchmark and BTIG maintained bullish ratings with targets ranging from $247 to $250. The analyst actions reinforce expectations for additional upside following the earnings report. Booking Given New Price Target at UBS Group
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth initiatives remain supportive: Management cited early benefits from artificial-intelligence personalization, cost savings and its connected-trip strategy, potentially improving efficiency and expanding customer engagement. Is Booking Holdings a Buying Opportunity?
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend provides modest shareholder support: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable September 30 to shareholders of record September 11. The annualized yield of approximately 0.8% is unlikely to materially change the investment case.
• Neutral Sentiment: Director sale was scheduled in advance: Director Robert Mylod Jr. sold 1,000 shares for $206,700 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. He continues to own 15,000 shares, limiting the significance of the transaction as a bearish signal. Booking Director Stock Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term outlook is less robust: Investors remain cautious about soft third-quarter revenue guidance, moderating room-night growth and marketing expenses rising faster than revenue. Competition from Google, geopolitical uncertainty and technically overbought conditions could limit further gains after the recent rally. Why Analysts Are Bullish on Booking

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.