Maridea Wealth Management LLC Makes New $1.19 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,190,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Booking by 1,497.3% during 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 buying an additional 816,022 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Booking by 66,209.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 659,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $117,600,000 after buying an additional 658,788 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Booking by 2,548.6% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 649,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,785,000 after acquiring an additional 625,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $3,271,041,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $212.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $184.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.65. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 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 report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

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.