Plato Investment Management Ltd Takes $6.47 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management acquired 36,517 Booking Holdings shares worth approximately $6.47 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.42% of the stock.
• Booking exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.54 in EPS and $7.35 billion in revenue, with revenue up 8.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.
• Wall Street maintains a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $235.72, although insiders sold 89,625 shares worth approximately $15.87 million over the past three months.

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 36,517 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,471,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $204.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $153.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.85.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.Booking's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking's payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark upped their price target on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $242.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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