56,047 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Acquired by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 56,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,990,000. Booking makes up 0.6% of Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. TRB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth $468,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth $1,332,000. Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $103,747,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $7,281,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $209.62 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $188.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.19. The company has a market cap of $157.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.27 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 earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Gordon Haskett boosted their price objective on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

About Booking

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.