Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC Makes New $773,000 Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $209.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $231.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $188.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid 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 18.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BKNG. Benchmark boosted their target price on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Gordon Haskett raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $242.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.