Lakewood Capital Management LP Purchases New Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Lakewood Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 165,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,445,000. Booking makes up 1.5% of Lakewood Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,548,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of BKNG opened at $213.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $160.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $230.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $189.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.09.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.45.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.