Ieq Capital LLC Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 97,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,441,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,741,000. Shelter Mutual Insurance Co purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,902,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $314,000. OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $345,000. Finally, Patron Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $970,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $209.62 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80. The stock has a market cap of $157.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $188.60 and its 200 day moving average is $177.00.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, 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 value of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.