Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Invests $10.90 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 61,164 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,902,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,370,455,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $992,026,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at about $550,554,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% 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 Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $213.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $160.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $229.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $190.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.35.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. Booking's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.45.

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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