Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $24.96 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3,579.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 140,059 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 136,252 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $24,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. True North Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $219,000. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 2,384.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 4,436 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,156.3% during the 2nd quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 2,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of Kansas lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 3,156.9% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co of Kansas now owns 29,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,329,000 after purchasing an additional 28,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its holdings in Booking by 2,817.2% in the second quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 97,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,361,000 after purchasing an additional 94,066 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 0.6%

BKNG stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.04. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during 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 revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

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.