Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Holdings Boosted by L1 Capital International Pty Ltd

L1 Capital International Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 366.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,597 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises 6.6% of L1 Capital International Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. L1 Capital International Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of Booking worth $126,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 1.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 1.1% during the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management lifted its position in Booking by 2.1% during the third quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank lifted its position in Booking by 3.4% during the third quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 57 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.8%

Booking stock opened at $164.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,076 shares of company stock valued at $16,417,121. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.14.

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.