Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Holdings Lifted by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,619.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,060 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $212.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.84. 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 $159.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted 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 net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm 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 company posted $55.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.