Shelter Ins Retirement Plan Makes New $2.67 Billion Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Shelter Ins Retirement Plan bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 15,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,673,600,000. Booking makes up 2.7% of Shelter Ins Retirement Plan’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $209.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $157.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.15.

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 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.