Venture Visionary Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,496 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $10,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 1,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,912,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,244,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canopy Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $216.00 price target on Booking and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.38.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’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 transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,935,432. The trade was a 3.93% 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 three months, insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 1.1%

BKNG stock traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $155.87. 6,267,067 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,241,663. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $220.81. The stock has a market cap of $117.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $187.59 and its 200 day moving average is $178.12.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.