EFG International AG Invests $771,000 in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

EFG International AG acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $771,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Booking by 50.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $179,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $202.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $226.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.49.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.45.

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.