III Capital Management Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

III Capital Management bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,041,000. Booking makes up 0.5% of III Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC increased its position in Booking by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,860,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark raised their price target on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $213.78 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $229.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $190.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.35.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. 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 currently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. The sale 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, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.