DSM Capital Partners LLC Takes $89.52 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. worth approximately $89.52 million in the first quarter, making it the company's 21st largest position.
• Insider activity included CEO Glenn D. Fogel selling 1,013 shares, which decreased their ownership by 3.66% to 26,633 shares valued at around $151.67 million.
• Booking announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, representing a 0.7% dividend yield, with an ex-dividend date set for September 5th.

DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 19,432 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $89,521,000. Booking accounts for about 1.6% of DSM Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. DSM Capital Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Booking at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Ted Buchan & Co lifted its stake in Booking by 2.4% in the first quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 252 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Booking by 3.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 86,831 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $400,008,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Booking by 98.1% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 929 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,280,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 116.7% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Booking by 3.5% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,782,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $6,700.00 price objective (up previously from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,781.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $77.71 on Monday, hitting $5,532.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 169,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,580. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5,558.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,126.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,610.44 and a one year high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $41.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.