Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 3,550.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Booking Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $213.00 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.12. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $231.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s KAYAK brand reported that international airfares for U.K. travelers in September and October are averaging 26% below peak-season levels. Cheaper “shoulder-season” travel could encourage additional bookings and support demand across Booking’s accommodation and travel platforms. KAYAK shoulder-season travel research
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive. Booking’s latest quarterly revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion and earnings exceeded analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a broadly favorable view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $235.72, above recent trading levels. Booking growth-stock analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually, representing an approximately 0.8% yield. The payout signals ongoing shareholder returns but is modest and is unlikely to materially affect the stock’s near-term direction.
• Negative Sentiment: Booking Vice President Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares worth approximately $10.4 million, reducing his position by 11.77%. Director Vanessa Ames Wittman separately sold 375 shares for about $79,000. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as bearish signals; Millones still retains roughly $77.9 million in BKNG stock. Booking insider share sales

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their position. 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 sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.