Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Has $21.44 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,646.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,491 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Booking were worth $21,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Booking by 400.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,301.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $170.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,061.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5,379.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $4,096.23 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $83.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 24.96%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,514 shares in the company, valued at $7,570,000. The trade was a 11.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,820.35, for a total value of $2,135,415.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,775,572.85. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,388 shares of company stock worth $17,629,822. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Barclays raised their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Booking in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $6,100.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $6,000.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,149.23.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.