Novem Group Buys 2,743 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Novem Group boosted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,973.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,743 shares during the quarter. Novem Group’s holdings in Booking were worth $514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Booking by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $179,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was 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. Insiders sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus boosted their price target on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Gordon Haskett increased their price objective on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $213.34 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $183.08 and its 200 day moving average is $177.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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