Newport Capital Group LLC Buys New Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Newport Capital Group opened a new position in Booking Holdings during the fourth quarter, buying 21,420 shares valued at about $115,000. The stake represented roughly 0.1% of Newport’s portfolio.
• Booking reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.14 beating estimates and revenue of $5.53 billion slightly topping forecasts. Revenue also rose 16.2% year over year.
• Several insiders recently sold shares, including CEO Glenn D. Fogel and VP Peter J. Millones, while analysts overall keep a Moderate Buy rating with a consensus target price of $227.14.

Newport Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,420 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $115,000. Booking makes up approximately 0.1% of Newport Capital Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Newport Capital Group LLC owned 0.07% of Booking at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Booking by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 161 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,156,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 11,978 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,146,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,280 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $49,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value 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 trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% 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. Insiders have sold 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of BKNG opened at $169.82 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $233.58. The business's fifty day moving average is $170.65 and its 200 day moving average is $186.57. The stock has a market cap of $131.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Booking from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Booking from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Gordon Haskett boosted their price objective on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.14.

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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