Diversified Management Inc. Makes New $3.01 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Diversified Management Inc. acquired a new $3.01 million stake in Booking Holdings during the third quarter, purchasing 18,450 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in adjusted EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, with revenue up 8.1% year over year. The company also pays a $0.42 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 1.1% annually.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $235.38, despite recent insider selling and BKNG trading near $159.97.

Diversified Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 18,450 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,006,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Professional Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 12.5% in the third quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 161,271 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,273,000 after purchasing an additional 17,940 shares in the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the third quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 4,596 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $716,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 12.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 31,943 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,776,000 after buying an additional 3,506 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in Booking by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1,971.2% during the third quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 2,589 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,800,000. The trade was a 6.67% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $159.97 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $186.93 and its 200 day moving average is $178.00. The firm has a market cap of $120.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.13. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $55.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen raised Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $190.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.38.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.

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