OFI Invest Asset Management Increases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

OFI Invest Asset Management increased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 71.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,134 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management’s holdings in Booking were worth $79,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. CCLA Investment Management bought a new stake in Booking in the third quarter worth about $119,522,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 26.6% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,413,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 53 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. boosted its holdings in Booking by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its position in Booking by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,283,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,406.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $174.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5,080.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5,372.85. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $4,096.23 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $83.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total value of $80,430.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,124. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,570,000. This trade represents a 11.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,324 shares of company stock worth $17,193,557 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Booking in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $6,100.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6,000.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,590.00 to $5,550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,443.00 to $5,523.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $5,810.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,149.23.

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.