RiverPark Advisors LLC Has $2.79 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

RiverPark Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,247.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,970 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises 1.3% of RiverPark Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. RiverPark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,055,006,000 after purchasing an additional 23,159 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in Booking by 191,965.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Booking by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,685,520,000 after purchasing an additional 6,976 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Booking by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,173,899,000 after purchasing an additional 128,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Booking by 1,497.3% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after purchasing an additional 816,022 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. This trade represents 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.84. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

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.