Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Waverly Advisors LLC

Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,425.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,233 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Financial Corp IN grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% 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 have sold 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of BKNG opened at $173.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.85. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $225.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 target price on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.70.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.