Blue Capital Inc. Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

by · The Markets Daily

Blue Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $2,210,917,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 578,824.0% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,675,765,000 after purchasing an additional 289,412 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC lifted its position in Booking by 658,925.0% during the second quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 105,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $610,441,000 after purchasing an additional 105,428 shares in the last quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. bought a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at about $536,675,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Booking by 79.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 154,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $695,259,000 after buying an additional 68,243 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total transaction of $79,379.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,729.36. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total transaction of $352,755.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,045.80. This trade represents a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,388 shares of company stock valued at $17,629,822 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $5,301.64 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5,061.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $5,379.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $4,096.23 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The company has a market capitalization of $170.87 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.25.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $83.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6,250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6,000.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas set a $6,100.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, November 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,149.23.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on BKNG

Booking Profile

(Free Report)

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.

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