Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stake Boosted by Spinnaker Trust

Spinnaker Trust raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,402.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,507 shares during the quarter. Spinnaker Trust’s holdings in Booking were worth $651,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 1.7% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,317,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Booking by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% 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 90 days, insiders sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.18 and a 200-day moving average of $177.64. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $226.10. The company has a market cap of $154.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.