Patron Partners LLC Makes New $970,000 Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Patron Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $970,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $209.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $188.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.19.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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 $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.