Key Points
- Booking CFO Ewout Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares at an average price of $211.03, generating $4.22 million. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced his direct holdings by 25.06%.
- Booking reported quarterly EPS of $2.54, beating estimates of $2.43, while revenue reached $7.35 billion, up 8.1% year over year and above expectations.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a $1.68 annualized payout and a 0.8% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $235.72.
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) CFO Ewout Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Booking Stock Up 0.5%
NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $213.34 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $183.08 and a 200-day moving average of $177.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80.
Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. Booking's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Booking Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.
Institutional Trading of Booking
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth about $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,370,455,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Booking by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,055,006,000 after buying an additional 23,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark upped their target price on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.72.
Read Our Latest Report on BKNG
Booking Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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