Ritholtz Wealth Management Grows Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 56.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Booking were worth $10,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of Booking by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Booking by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,193.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $167.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.23. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4,096.23 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,182.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5,366.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The company had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $83.39 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Booking from $5,433.00 to $5,407.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,523.00 to $5,954.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seaport Global Securities raised their price target on shares of Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6,225.56.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total value of $80,430.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,124. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,414.53, for a total value of $3,091,696.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,759,275.30. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,296 shares of company stock worth $11,862,154 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.