Leavell Investment Management Inc. Has $2.39 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,314.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,869 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 52 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Equity Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Booking by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Equity Wealth Partners LLC now owns 101 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in Booking by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Booking by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,434,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Finally, Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Booking by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% 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. Insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $213.34 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $231.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $183.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.00. The company has a market cap of $160.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 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 currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BKNG shares. Evercore set a $245.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $242.00 target price on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.