Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. Invests $1.23 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 225 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,000. Booking comprises 0.8% of Caldwell Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 412 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 470 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,538,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its stake in Booking by 9.6% in the third quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 49 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Booking by 65.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 542 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,414.53, for a total value of $3,091,696.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,010 shares in the company, valued at $113,759,275.30. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,124. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,296 shares of company stock worth $11,862,154 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6,000.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Mizuho set a $6,000.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,523.00 to $5,954.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,179.42.

Booking Stock Down 1.4%

BKNG stock opened at $5,314.71 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $4,096.23 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,171.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5,368.86.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

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.