Empowered Funds LLC Has $50.30 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 81.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,377 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $50,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on BKNG. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Argus set a $210.00 target price on Booking and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Booking from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on Booking in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.05.

Booking Stock Up 5.3%

BKNG stock opened at $186.79 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The company has a market cap of $144.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.43.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.45 EPS for the current year.

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.