DRW Securities LLC Acquires Shares of 210 Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 210 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,954,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,718,390,000 after acquiring an additional 12,456 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Booking by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 514,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,865,949,000 after purchasing an additional 21,969 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 376,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,336,085,000 after purchasing an additional 15,303 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 358,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,421,069,000 after buying an additional 10,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 275,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $976,096,000 after buying an additional 9,419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $4,064.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $137.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,772.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,729.29. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $37.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BKNG. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Booking in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.