Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Has $655,000 Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,433.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,674 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Booking in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $212.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.92.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BKNG. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 69,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,075 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Company 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.