15,000 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Bought by Shelter Ins Retirement Plan

Shelter Ins Retirement Plan purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,673,600,000. Booking makes up 2.7% of Shelter Ins Retirement Plan’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 2,860.8% in the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 12,130 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,071 shares during the last quarter. Rit Capital Partners PLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,396,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $94,008,000 after buying an additional 508,197 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $209.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $157.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.29 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $187.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.15.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore set a $245.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

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.