Callan Family Office LLC Takes $7.74 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 43,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,000.

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

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $209.62 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 50,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

About Booking

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.