Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,956.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,064 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 21,342 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $3,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 97 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 52 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.45.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $199.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $149.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $226.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $192.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.79.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304. 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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