Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by North Growth Management Ltd.

Key Points

• North Growth Management significantly increased its Booking Holdings stake by purchasing 88,000 additional shares in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 92,000 shares valued at approximately $16.5 million.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72. Booking also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue.
• Booking shares opened at $213.34, near the upper end of their 12-month range, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share. Insiders have sold $15.9 million worth of shares over the past 90 days.

North Growth Management Ltd. boosted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,200.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 88,000 shares during the period. Booking comprises 2.1% of North Growth Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. North Growth Management Ltd.'s holdings in Booking were worth $16,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $179,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BKNG. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $210.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Booking Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $213.34 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $183.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.00. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The firm has a market cap of $160.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS 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 company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% 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 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 in the last 90 days. Company 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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