Hollencrest Capital Management Acquires 3,191 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,381.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,191 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management’s holdings in Booking were worth $593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,370,455,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 2,525.5% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,101,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,087,597,000 after purchasing an additional 5,869,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth $992,026,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $205.63 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $226.10. The stock has a market cap of $154.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $192.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.64.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

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.