Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $24.77 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,360.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,987 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 133,338 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Booking were worth $24,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2,333.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 20,851 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,717,000 after acquiring an additional 19,994 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 2,396.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 23,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 22,548 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its stake in Booking by 1,865.3% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 12,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 12,292 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 2,720.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,364,000 after purchasing an additional 305,012 shares during the period. Finally, Spinnaker Trust grew its position in Booking by 2,402.1% in the 2nd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $192.18 and its 200-day moving average is $177.64. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $226.10. The company has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.45.

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.