Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Invests $13.67 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 76,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,671,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% during the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $226.10.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $55.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark upped their target price on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

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.