Brown Advisory Inc. Increases Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,096 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $566,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Booking in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the third quarter valued at $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Gordon Haskett upped their target price on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $260.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction 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 $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,076 shares of company stock valued at $16,417,121 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $164.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $233.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.11.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

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.