Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stake Boosted by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 201,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,400 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $32,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,674.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,026,348,000 after acquiring an additional 37,999,915 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,370,455,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,489,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,057,274,000 after acquiring an additional 64,584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,404,063. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,800,000. The trade was a 6.67% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,425 shares of company stock worth $16,004,164. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.67.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking reported earnings of $4.66 per share, above analysts’ estimates of about $4.48–$4.49. Earnings coverage also pointed to growth in adjusted revenue, suggesting underlying operations performed better than the GAAP figures imply. Booking Holdings tops Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target to $265 from $274 but kept a Buy rating, signaling continued optimism while trimming its expectations. UBS rating and price target
• Negative Sentiment: A roughly $900 million FTC-related charge weighed on reported revenue. One report put GAAP revenue down about 1% year over year, despite growth in adjusted revenue, making the headline results look weaker. Reuters report on the FTC-related charge
• Negative Sentiment: Reports cited global conflicts weighing on travel demand and warned that growth could stall in the fourth quarter. That outlook may temper the market’s response to the earnings beat. Booking profit and sales report

Booking Trading Up 1.2%

Booking stock opened at $155.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.17. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.28 and a 12 month high of $220.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $168.99 and its 200-day moving average is $176.70.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.55 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $99.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant-reservation company that connects consumers with travel providers through digital platforms and mobile applications. Its services include accommodations, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages, restaurant reservations and other travel-related offerings.

The company operates a portfolio of well-known brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and Kayak-associated travel services.