Blue Capital Inc. Makes New $1.34 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Blue Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,343,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 110.8% during the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 196 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 118.9% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivium Point Advisory LLC raised its position in Booking by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 90 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Booking from $6,723.00 to $6,790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas set a $6,100.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Monday, November 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Booking from $5,590.00 to $5,550.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group set a $6,806.00 target price on Booking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $6,150.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6,149.23.

Booking Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,301.64 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5,061.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $5,379.40. The firm has a market cap of $170.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.25. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $4,096.23 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $83.39 EPS. Analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total value of $5,588,639.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,237,930.44. The trade was a 4.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total value of $79,379.70. Following the sale, the director owned 732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,873,729.36. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,388 shares of company stock valued at $17,629,822 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.