Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Takes $3.54 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 19,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,540,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. First Financial Corp IN lifted its position in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd 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 position in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.45.

Booking Stock Up 1.5%

BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $226.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $192.18 and a 200-day moving average of $177.64. The stock has a market cap of $154.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.