Great Lakes Advisors LLC Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 110,139 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,631,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at about $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at about $1,370,455,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in Booking by 191,965.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter worth about $472,723,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $208.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $156.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $231.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.06.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.