Cardinal Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,461.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 206,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 197,980 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $36,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Booking Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $212.87 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $181.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.87. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The stock has a market cap of $159.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS 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 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 is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,625 shares of company stock worth $11,652,075. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on BKNG. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays set a $210.00 price objective on Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Company 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.