HMS Capital Management LLC Has $1.93 Million Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

HMS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,361.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,368 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for approximately 0.7% of HMS Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. HMS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $213.34 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $231.80. The company has a market cap of $160.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.08 and a 200-day moving average of $177.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Booking Company 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.