Cwm LLC Grows Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Cwm LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $20,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Booking by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 14.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 29,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $138,157,000 after acquiring an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Booking by 300.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 8 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 960 shares in the company, valued at $4,800,000. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,362.00, for a total transaction of $80,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,124. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,324 shares of company stock valued at $17,193,557. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,440.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $175.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5,107.58 and its 200-day moving average is $5,370.87. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $4,096.23 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $83.39 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $6,150.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $6,250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,443.00 to $5,523.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,149.23.

Booking 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.