Diversify Wealth Management LLC Has $27.09 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Diversify Wealth Management LLC dramatically increased its stake in Booking Holdings, boosting its position by 14,195.6% in the first quarter to 6,433 shares valued at about $27.1 million.
• Booking’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $1.14 versus the $1.08 estimate and revenue of $5.53 billion, up 16.2% year over year.
• Insiders sold shares during the quarter, including CEO Glenn D. Fogel and Director Vanessa Ames Wittman, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $227.26.

Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 14,195.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,433 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,388 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $27,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings 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 valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $179,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $244.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Evercore set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Booking from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.26.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at $55,269,532.64. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ BKNG traded up $2.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $178.39. The company had a trading volume of 3,974,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,066,356. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.25. The stock has a market cap of $138.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $231.80.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Booking Company 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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