Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 461.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,023 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. First Financial Corp IN boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 69,625 shares of company stock worth $11,652,075 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BKNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

Booking Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $212.26 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.92. The company has a market capitalization of $159.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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