Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Increases Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group dramatically increased its stake in Booking Holdings, boosting holdings by 4,075.2% in the first quarter to 12,275 shares worth about $51.7 million.
• Booking reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $1.14 versus the $1.08 consensus and revenue of $5.53 billion, up 16.2% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $227.26.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 4,075.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,275 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,981 shares during the period. Booking makes up about 1.0% of Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $51,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,271,041,000. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Booking by 28,353.8% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 204,298 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,094,083,000 after acquiring an additional 203,580 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 862.0% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,167,890,000 after purchasing an additional 195,411 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Booking by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,173,899,000 after purchasing an additional 128,700 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $178.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $138.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $168.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.52 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. Gordon Haskett upped their target price on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Argus set a $210.00 target price on Booking and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.26.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This represents a 5.31% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Profile

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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