Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $7.23 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,300.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,875 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $7,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% 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. Insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $212.06 on Friday. 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 $184.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.04. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 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. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during 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%. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Booking 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.