Global Retirement Partners LLC Makes New $4.67 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 26,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,665,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $1,370,455,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Booking by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,055,006,000 after acquiring an additional 23,159 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831,495 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,685,520,000 after purchasing an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Booking by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,173,899,000 after purchasing an additional 128,700 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $212.06 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.65.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director 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 worth $15,872,675 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BKNG. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

About Booking

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.