Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by North Growth Management Ltd.

North Growth Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,200.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,000 shares during the period. Booking accounts for about 2.1% of North Growth Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. North Growth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $16,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Landaas & Co. WI ADV lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Landaas & Co. WI ADV now owns 1,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2,750.9% in the second quarter. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 1,568 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI grew its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 14,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,669,000 after buying an additional 14,376 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Fulcrum Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southern Michigan Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,411.5% during the 2nd quarter. Southern Michigan Bank & Trust now owns 2,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 2,098 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 0.5%

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 stock has a market cap of $160.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $183.08 and a 200-day moving average of $177.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore set a $245.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.