Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,660.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,172 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Booking by 1,497.3% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,665,168,000 after purchasing an additional 816,022 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 66,209.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 659,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,600,000 after purchasing an additional 658,788 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $3,271,041,000. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Booking by 2,412.4% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 220,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,313,000 after purchasing an additional 211,781 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% 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 have sold 69,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,075. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $212.88 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.61. The company has a market capitalization of $159.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.07. 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 earnings results 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BKNG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.