21,420 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Purchased by Newport Capital Group LLC

Newport Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $115,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 1.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.1% during the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Elgethun Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.1% during the third quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.4% during the third quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 57 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $164.94 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $233.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors 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 yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BKNG. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Booking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $246.00 to $220.00 in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Booking from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was 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 directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Friday, April 17th. 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 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% 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 97,076 shares of company stock valued at $16,417,121 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.