Peak Asset Management LLC Takes $14.68 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Peak Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 82,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,681,000. Booking makes up 2.2% of Peak Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% during the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 12,130 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Booking by 1,663.9% in the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,396,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.45.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their position. 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, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% 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 sold 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $213.36 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $230.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $189.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.09.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Booking 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.