Simplicity Wealth LLC Makes New $731,000 Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% 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, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% 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 have sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

Booking Trading Down 3.4%

BKNG opened at $204.76 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $184.85 and a 200-day moving average of $176.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

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.