Salvus Wealth Management LLC Buys 21,943 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,336.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,943 shares during the period. Booking accounts for 2.3% of Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. BFI Infinity Ltd. increased its position in Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. BFI Infinity Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 175 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,318.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 16,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,858,000 after purchasing an additional 15,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,404.2% during the second quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 4,616 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of BKNG opened at $212.88 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $231.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $180.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.61. The firm has a market cap of $159.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 69,625 shares of company stock worth $11,652,075 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday. Gordon Haskett boosted their price target on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

About Booking

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.