Truist Financial Corp Boosts Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 623 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.10% of Booking worth $172,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at about $2,210,917,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 578,824.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,675,765,000 after purchasing an additional 289,412 shares during the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 658,925.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 105,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,441,000 after purchasing an additional 105,428 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $536,675,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth approximately $468,252,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,800,000. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,570,000. This trade represents a 11.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,324 shares of company stock valued at $17,190,323. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,153.41 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5,204.48 and a 200 day moving average of $5,326.70. The company has a market cap of $166.09 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $4,096.23 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $83.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Booking from $5,800.00 to $5,600.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Booking from $6,700.00 to $6,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $6,200.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $6,100.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, November 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6,205.88.

Booking Company Profile

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.