Groupe la Francaise Has $35.54 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Groupe la Francaise increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,191.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 199,660 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 184,200 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Booking were worth $35,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Booking by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 52 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage on Booking in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.70.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders sold 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $193.29 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.60. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $226.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 1.20 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.