Trust Point Inc. Boosts Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Trust Point Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,418.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,416 shares during the quarter. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 25.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Booking by 50.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter worth $179,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.69.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $214.42 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $179.43 and a 200 day moving average of $176.77. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Booking

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 69,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,075 over the last 90 days. 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.