Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 26,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,643,000. Booking accounts for about 1.8% of Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% during the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,238,000 after purchasing an additional 12,130 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Booking by 1,663.9% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after buying an additional 27,071 shares during the last quarter. Rit Capital Partners PLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $51,396,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Booking by 2,643.0% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 527,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,008,000 after buying an additional 508,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 1.5%

Booking stock opened at $209.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.15.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

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.