Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $29.02 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,990.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,831 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 157,563 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $29,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Booking by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $179,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BKNG. Truist Financial set a $242.00 target price on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.45.

Booking Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $199.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $149.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $226.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.80 and a 200-day moving average of $177.79.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted 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 last year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% 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 have sold 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.