Northstar Group Inc. Makes New $5.62 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Northstar Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 31,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,617,000. Booking accounts for 0.7% of Northstar Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Platform Technology Partners raised its stake in shares of Booking by 2,190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 3,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Booking by 2,542.2% during the second quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 63,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,260,000 after buying an additional 60,784 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC grew its position in Booking by 2,480.8% during the second quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the period. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 2,614.8% during the second quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 2,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 1,895.5% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 439 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $212.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $231.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.65.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.