Silvant Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 35,144 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,264,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in shares of Booking by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 53 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $209.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $187.71 and a 200-day moving average of $177.15. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on 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 issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

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.