HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Invests $843,000 in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $843,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 1.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its position in Booking by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its stake in Booking by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 53 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $212.06 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $184.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.65. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $206,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.