Bank of Nova Scotia Has $3.67 Billion Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,497.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 6.0% of Bank of Nova Scotia’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,665,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 96.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 83,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,973,000 after acquiring an additional 41,061 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Booking by 9.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,055,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 16.1% in the first quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 7,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,291,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Bowie Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,243,000. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter worth about $535,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BKNG. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore set a $245.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 price target (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $172.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $171.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.12. The company has a market cap of $133.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

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.