RFG Advisory LLC Has $1.51 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,088.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,492 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,104 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its holdings in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $173.92 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.85. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The company has a market cap of $130.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.07.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $610,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,935,432. The trade was a 3.93% 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 three months, insiders have sold 81,550 shares of company stock worth $16,922,744. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $188.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Benchmark increased their price target on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued 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. Two analysts have 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.70.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.