Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Holdings Boosted by J. Stern & Co. LLP

J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 191,965.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Booking comprises about 4.6% of J. Stern & Co. LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. J. Stern & Co. LLP owned 0.09% of Booking worth $15,171,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $361,463,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Booking by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 22,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $122,396,000 after buying an additional 1,514 shares during the period. Rit Capital Partners PLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,396,000. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 64,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $347,604,000 after buying an additional 11,042 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 56,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $300,364,000 after buying an additional 15,053 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $175.72 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $233.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.94.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BKNG. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Booking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $220.00 in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.14.

Booking Company 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.