Orion Capital Management LLC Invests $699,000 in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $699,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $226.10. The firm has a market cap of $154.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.64.

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, 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.45.

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.