Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 19,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,540,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,317,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 97 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Booking by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial restated 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $192.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.64. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $226.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s 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.