EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $7.28 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 40,851 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,281,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Booking by 3,475.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 50,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $209.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $188.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.19. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The company has a market cap of $157.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BKNG. Evercore set a $245.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Benchmark increased their target price on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Company 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.