Sei Investments Co. Boosts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 96.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,061 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Booking were worth $351,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $177.86 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $171.15 and a 200-day moving average of $178.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up from $244.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler set a $195.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.05.

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.