Jupiter Topco LLC Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,088,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $550,554,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the second quarter worth about $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,370,455,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $992,026,000. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,404,063. This represents a 2.27% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $213.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $190.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.35. The stock has a market cap of $160.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $229.13.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid 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 is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price objective (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus increased their target price on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 target price on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

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.