Hilltop National Bank Purchases 2,926 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Hilltop National Bank increased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,167.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,926 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Booking were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Booking by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,055,006,000 after acquiring an additional 23,159 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,685,520,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Booking by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,173,899,000 after acquiring an additional 128,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1,497.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after purchasing an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 68,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,445,375 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $192.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $176.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.70. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The company has a market capitalization of $149.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on Booking and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $214.00 target price on Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.23.

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.