MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Increases Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 56.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,120 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Booking were worth $31,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 15.6% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Booking by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 75,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $437,284,000 after buying an additional 11,829 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $174,893,000 after buying an additional 12,148 shares during the period. Covey Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 1.0% in the second quarter. Covey Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,467,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Booking by 12.7% during the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,262,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,414.53, for a total value of $3,091,696.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,010 shares in the company, valued at $113,759,275.30. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total transaction of $80,430.00. Following the sale, the director owned 702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,124. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,324 shares of company stock worth $17,193,557 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Global Securities lifted their target price on Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Booking from $6,500.00 to $6,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Argus boosted their price objective on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,590.00 to $5,550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6,156.48.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,348.39 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $4,096.23 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5,134.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $5,372.39.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $83.39 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

Booking Company 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.