17,940 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Purchased by Professional Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Professional Advisory Services increased its Booking Holdings position by 12.5%, purchasing 17,940 shares and bringing its holdings to 161,271 shares valued at $26.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Booking reported quarterly earnings of $2.54 per share and revenue of $7.35 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue grew 8.1% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, yielding approximately 1.1%.
• BKNG recently traded near $159.97, well below its 52-week high of $220.81, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $235.38. Insiders sold 83,050 shares worth approximately $17.2 million over the past 90 days.

Professional Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 12.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,271 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,940 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for 3.1% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Professional Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $26,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 1,104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,912,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,244,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canopy Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock traded up $4.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $159.97. The company had a trading volume of 7,777,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,239,592. The company has a market capitalization of $120.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $186.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.00. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Booking's payout ratio is 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,935,432. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BKNG. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $188.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.38.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.

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