Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 157,563 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,990.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,831 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 157,563 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $29,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 12,130 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 27,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Booking by 2,643.0% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 527,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,008,000 after acquiring an additional 508,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on BKNG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

Booking Stock Down 3.2%

Booking stock opened at $199.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $149.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $226.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $192.80 and its 200 day moving average is $177.79.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is 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.