Jupiter Topco LLC Purchases Shares of 3,088,838 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,088,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $550,554,000. Jupiter Topco LLC owned 0.41% of Booking as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in Booking by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,317,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 0.2%

BKNG stock opened at $213.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $190.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.35. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $229.13. The company has a market capitalization of $160.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.45.

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.