Quartz Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Quartz Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in Booking by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings in Booking by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 53 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s KAYAK brand reported that international airfares for U.K. travelers in September and October are averaging 26% below peak-season levels. Cheaper “shoulder-season” travel could encourage additional bookings and support demand across Booking’s accommodation and travel platforms. KAYAK shoulder-season travel research
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive. Booking’s latest quarterly revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion and earnings exceeded analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a broadly favorable view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $235.72, above recent trading levels. Booking growth-stock analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually, representing an approximately 0.8% yield. The payout signals ongoing shareholder returns but is modest and is unlikely to materially affect the stock’s near-term direction.
• Negative Sentiment: Booking Vice President Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares worth approximately $10.4 million, reducing his position by 11.77%. Director Vanessa Ames Wittman separately sold 375 shares for about $79,000. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as bearish signals; Millones still retains roughly $77.9 million in BKNG stock. Booking insider share sales

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

Booking Stock Up 2.3%

BKNG opened at $213.00 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $186.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.12. The company has a market cap of $160.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% 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, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% 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 have sold a total of 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.