Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 54.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 135,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,684 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $727,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BKNG. Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management lifted its stake in Booking by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Booking by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 57 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its position in Booking by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 140 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $171.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $169.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.43. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $272.00 to $264.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.