Simplicity Wealth LLC Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Booking 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 owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $204.76 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $184.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.85. The company has a market cap of $153.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore set a $245.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.