Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Bought by Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C.

Key Points

• Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors increased its Booking Holdings stake by 2,588.7% in the second quarter, purchasing 5,281 additional shares to own 5,485 shares valued at approximately $978,000. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Booking insiders sold 89,625 shares worth $15.9 million over the past 90 days, including significant sales by the CFO and a director under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $235.72. The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue.

Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,588.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,485 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,281 shares during the quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C.'s holdings in Booking were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in Booking by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 403 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,158,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Booking by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 642 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,434,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the period. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 655 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,508,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% 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 Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. 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 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $236.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC lowered their target price on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $212.06 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $184.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.04. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The company has a market capitalization of $159.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors 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 yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking's payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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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