Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $9.34 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3,879.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 52,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,093 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $9,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Booking by 25.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $179,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, August 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.70.

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $174.33 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $194.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.83. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The company has a market cap of $130.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 73,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,935,432. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 81,550 shares of company stock worth $16,922,744. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Travel demand remains resilient despite geopolitical conflicts and a slowing macroeconomic environment, supporting the long-term outlook for Booking’s core lodging and travel businesses. Booking Holdings Stock: A Travel Stock to Buy Right Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking presented at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference and Citi’s Global TMT Conference. The available reports are conference transcripts and do not identify a major new catalyst for the stock. Goldman Sachs Conference Transcript Citi Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: A September short-interest update reported zero shares short, unchanged from the prior period, with a zero-day days-to-cover ratio. Because the figures show no measurable short position, the update provides little directional information.
• Negative Sentiment: The European General Court sided with EU regulators in rejecting Booking’s challenge to the veto of its ETraveli acquisition. The decision ends Booking’s effort to complete the deal and represents a setback to its strategic expansion plans. Judges Side With EU Regulators in Blocking Booking’s Acquisition of ETraveli

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.