Kiltearn Partners LLP Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Kiltearn Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,503,000. Booking comprises approximately 0.8% of Kiltearn Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased 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 last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake 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 valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $179,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BKNG. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $209.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.00. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.