Wealthfront Advisers LLC Purchases New Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 57,639 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,274,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $213.00 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BKNG. Barclays set a $210.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

More Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s KAYAK brand reported that international airfares for U.K. travelers in September and October are averaging 26% below peak-season levels. Cheaper “shoulder-season” travel could encourage additional bookings and support demand across Booking’s accommodation and travel platforms. KAYAK shoulder-season travel research
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive. Booking’s latest quarterly revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion and earnings exceeded analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a broadly favorable view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $235.72, above recent trading levels. Booking growth-stock analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually, representing an approximately 0.8% yield. The payout signals ongoing shareholder returns but is modest and is unlikely to materially affect the stock’s near-term direction.
• Negative Sentiment: Booking Vice President Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares worth approximately $10.4 million, reducing his position by 11.77%. Director Vanessa Ames Wittman separately sold 375 shares for about $79,000. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as bearish signals; Millones still retains roughly $77.9 million in BKNG stock. Booking insider share sales

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. 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 a total of 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% 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.