Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Buys Shares of 76,701 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 76,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,671,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Up 1.5%

BKNG stock opened at $205.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $154.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $226.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.64.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,404,063. This represents a 2.27% 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 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.45.

About Booking

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.