MSH Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,644 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Booking by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Booking by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Booking by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its position in Booking by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 53 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Stock Up 2.3%

BKNG stock opened at $213.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $160.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $186.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.12.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s KAYAK brand reported that international airfares for U.K. travelers in September and October are averaging 26% below peak-season levels. Cheaper “shoulder-season” travel could encourage additional bookings and support demand across Booking’s accommodation and travel platforms. KAYAK shoulder-season travel research
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive. Booking’s latest quarterly revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion and earnings exceeded analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a broadly favorable view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $235.72, above recent trading levels. Booking growth-stock analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually, representing an approximately 0.8% yield. The payout signals ongoing shareholder returns but is modest and is unlikely to materially affect the stock’s near-term direction.
• Negative Sentiment: Booking Vice President Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares worth approximately $10.4 million, reducing his position by 11.77%. Director Vanessa Ames Wittman separately sold 375 shares for about $79,000. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as bearish signals; Millones still retains roughly $77.9 million in BKNG stock. Booking insider share sales

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.