Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Purchased by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,525.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,101,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,869,459 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,087,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Booking by 3,475.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. First Financial Corp IN lifted its position in Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This 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. Insiders sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.45.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $226.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $192.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.64. The firm has a market cap of $154.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.