Flputnam Investment Management Co. Invests $24.77 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management acquired 138,987 Booking Holdings shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $24.77 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Booking receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.72.
• Booking exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share. Insiders sold $15.87 million of stock over the last quarter, primarily under pre-arranged trading plans.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 138,987 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $24,773,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Booking by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Booking by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $179,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on Booking and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.72.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was 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 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% 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. Insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $212.06 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $231.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $184.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.65.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking's payout ratio is currently 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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