Trajan Wealth LLC Acquires New Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Trajan Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 249,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $44,414,000. Booking makes up approximately 1.7% of Trajan Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new position in Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in Booking by 2,860.8% in the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 12,130 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1,663.9% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $51,396,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Up 1.8%

BKNG opened at $213.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $189.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.09. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $230.98.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. DA Davidson set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. HSBC cut their target price on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.45.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.