Empirical Finance LLC Increases Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3,041.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,741 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $7,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake in Booking by 2,860.8% during the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,238,000 after purchasing an additional 12,130 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1,663.9% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,115,000 after buying an additional 27,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,643.0% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 527,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,008,000 after buying an additional 508,197 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $12.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $180.30. 10,875,922 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,162,280. The business’s 50 day moving average is $194.53 and its 200-day moving average is $178.71. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $225.00. The company has a market capitalization of $135.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the 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 directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 81,550 shares of company stock worth $16,922,744. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.70.

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.