4,914 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Purchased by Barden Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Barden Capital Management purchased 4,914 Booking Holdings shares worth approximately $876,000 in the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on BKNG, with a consensus price target of $235.72; ratings include 27 Buys, eight Holds, and one Strong Buy.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, up 8.1% year over year. The company also declared a $0.42 quarterly dividend, while insiders sold $15.87 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Barden Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,914 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $876,000. Booking accounts for approximately 0.8% of Barden Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report 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 given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $212.06 on Monday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $184.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a PEG 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.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking's payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer 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 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 sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.

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