Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stake Lifted by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,400.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Fulcrum Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fulcrum Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Southern Michigan Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,411.5% in the second quarter. Southern Michigan Bank & Trust now owns 2,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Booking by 2,334.5% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 70,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,623,000 after buying an additional 67,911 shares in the last quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Booking by 2,530.5% during the second quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors now owns 16,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,987,000 after acquiring an additional 16,119 shares during the period. Finally, Novem Group grew its holdings in Booking by 1,973.4% during the second quarter. Novem Group now owns 2,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,743 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $213.34 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $183.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.00. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.