Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Purchases 2,675 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lifted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,266.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,675 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Booking were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Clarity Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1,986.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Booking by 2,391.5% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 2,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,798 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Booking by 2,497.3% in the second quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 2,448.1% in the second quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 2,571.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 187 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore set a $245.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 69,625 shares of company stock worth $11,652,075. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $212.26 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $182.16 and its 200 day moving average is $176.92. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80. The company has a market capitalization of $159.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released 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. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

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.