RB Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

RB Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,000,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% during the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,238,000 after buying an additional 12,130 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 1,663.9% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,115,000 after buying an additional 27,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rit Capital Partners PLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $51,396,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $205.63 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $226.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $192.18 and its 200 day moving average is $177.64. The company has a market cap of $154.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $188.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

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.