Natural Investments LLC Acquires 3,319 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Natural Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,495.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,319 shares during the quarter. Natural Investments LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $245 price target, implying approximately 25% upside from the referenced share price. The firm views Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency despite industry challenges, providing a potentially meaningful catalyst for the shares. Rosenblatt sees Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks characterized Booking as a strong momentum stock based on its style-score framework, reinforcing the case that recent price and fundamental trends could attract momentum-oriented investors. Why Booking is a strong momentum stock
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank brokers raised their earnings estimates for Booking, suggesting improving expectations for the company’s future profitability. Higher forecasts can support valuation, although the article provides no details on the size or rationale of the revisions. Erste Group Bank lifts Booking earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Priceline CEO Brigit Zimmerman discussed travel trends ahead of the Labor Day weekend. The interview may offer insight into demand and booking patterns, but the available report does not specify whether the commentary was favorable or unfavorable for Booking. Priceline CEO discusses travel trends
• Negative Sentiment: Booking has lagged the broader market this year, which could weigh on investor sentiment and highlights concerns about online-travel-sector growth or valuation. Separately, director Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares worth about $610,440 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; the planned nature of the transaction reduces its signaling value, but it remains a modest negative headline.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.70.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at $14,935,432. This trade represents a 3.93% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 80,550 shares of company stock worth $16,722,744. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $195.69 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $193.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.91. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $226.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.