Novem Group Buys 2,743 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Novem Group increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,973.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares during the period. Novem Group’s holdings in Booking were worth $514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its position 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Financial Corp IN grew its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays set a $210.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $213.34 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $183.08 and a 200-day moving average of $177.00. The company has a market capitalization 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 (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Booking Company 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.