Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5,418.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,443 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up about 1.7% of Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $19,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,055,006,000 after buying an additional 23,159 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,685,520,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Booking by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,173,899,000 after purchasing an additional 128,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox increased its position in Booking by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 732,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,920,535,000 after buying an additional 56,999 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. 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 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $181.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $168.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.33. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $233.58. The firm has a market cap of $140.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $188.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.11.

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.