Leavell Investment Management Inc. Acquires 12,869 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,314.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,869 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $51,396,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 1,663.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,352,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in Booking by 862.0% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,890,000 after acquiring an additional 195,411 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BKNG opened at $213.34 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $183.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.00. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The stock has a market cap of $160.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm 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 firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.