Aubrey Capital Management Ltd Purchases 200 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Aubrey Capital Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Booking comprises approximately 1.4% of Aubrey Capital Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Booking by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 150.0% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 100.0% in the second quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,163.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $166.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.23. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $4,096.23 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5,188.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,346.25.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group set a $6,806.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Booking from $6,450.00 to $6,630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $6,325.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,229.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 960 shares in the company, valued at $4,800,000. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,570,000. The trade was a 11.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,324 shares of company stock worth $17,190,323 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.