10,270 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Bought by Hardy Reed LLC

Key Points

• Hardy Reed LLC bought 10,270 Booking Holdings shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.83 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72; UBS and BMO recently raised their targets.
• Booking exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.54 in adjusted EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, up 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

Hardy Reed LLC purchased a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,270 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,831,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN grew its stake in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $212.06 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $184.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.65.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% 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 sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.

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