Sivia Capital Partners LLC Acquires 6,858 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 924.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,858 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Booking by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 1.7% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 655 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $212.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $184.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.84. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% 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. Insiders have sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking 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.