Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Buys 2,675 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lifted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,266.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,675 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Booking were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Equity Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Booking by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Equity Wealth Partners LLC now owns 101 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 52 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in Booking by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in Booking by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 642 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $212.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $182.16 and its 200 day moving average is $176.92.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,625 shares of company stock worth $11,652,075. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.