Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Purchased by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,608.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,350 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 12,130 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 1,663.9% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,071 shares during the period. Finally, Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $51,396,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $205.63 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $226.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.64.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $55.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,404,063. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.