Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Continuum Advisory LLC

Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4,939.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,161 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Booking by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $179,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 0.9%

Booking stock opened at $193.29 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $226.10. The firm has a market cap of $145.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $194.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.43.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS 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 business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business 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 is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The sale 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, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% 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 a total of 81,550 shares of company stock worth $16,922,744 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.70.

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.