Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Drive Wealth Management LLC

Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,874.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,981 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,396,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 1,663.9% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after acquiring an additional 27,071 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,352,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 862.0% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,890,000 after acquiring an additional 195,411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 Booking 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 transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents 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. Insiders have sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $213.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $183.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.00. The firm has a market cap of $160.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG 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.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment 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 MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

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.