JM2 Capital Inc. Purchases 4,247 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

JM2 Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,413.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,247 shares during the period. JM2 Capital Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. North Growth Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,200.0% in the second quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 92,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,476,000 after purchasing an additional 88,000 shares in the last quarter. Landaas & Co. WI ADV increased its position in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Landaas & Co. WI ADV now owns 1,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares during the last quarter. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Booking by 2,750.9% during the second quarter. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares in the last quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 14,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Fulcrum Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BKNG opened at $213.34 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.00. The company has a market cap of $160.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president directly 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 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) 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 stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.