Greenleaf Trust Purchases 67,911 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,334.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 70,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,911 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Booking were worth $12,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. First Financial Corp IN increased its holdings in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $213.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $160.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $183.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.00. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. HSBC dropped their target price on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

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.