Poehling Capital Management INC. Acquires 7,058 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Poehling Capital Management INC. raised its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,467.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,058 shares during the quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. First Financial Corp IN increased its position in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $212.26 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $182.16 and a 200 day moving average of $176.92. The company has a market capitalization of $159.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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 Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 69,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,075. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.