Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,668.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,211 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 1,663.9% in the second 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 period. Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $51,396,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $210,352,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in Booking by 862.0% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,890,000 after purchasing an additional 195,411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of BKNG opened at $212.06 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $184.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.84. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The firm has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BKNG. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore set a $245.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus upped their price objective on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $242.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.