Trust Co. of Vermont Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 61,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,916,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Booking by 3,550.0% during the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $204.76 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.85. The company has a market cap of $153.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, 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, 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 firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last 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 expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents 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. 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays set a $210.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.