97,852 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Acquired by Ieq Capital LLC

Key Points

• Ieq Capital acquired 97,852 shares of Booking Holdings in the second quarter, valued at approximately $17.4 million. Institutional investors now own 92.42% of the company.
• Booking reported quarterly EPS of $2.54 and revenue of $7.35 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue increased 8.1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $235.72, while Booking announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 97,852 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,441,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its position in Booking by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in Booking by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 53 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in Booking by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $209.62 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80. The company has a market cap of $157.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.72.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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