OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 29,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,245,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% 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 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC cut their target price on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

Booking Stock Down 1.5%

BKNG stock opened at $209.87 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80. The firm has a market cap of $157.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $187.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.15.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Booking 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.