Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Aristides Capital LLC

Aristides Capital LLC increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5,657.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,431 shares during the period. Booking comprises about 25.5% of Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $156,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Booking by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,055,006,000 after purchasing an additional 23,159 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,685,520,000 after purchasing an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Booking by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,173,899,000 after purchasing an additional 128,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 1,497.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after purchasing an additional 816,022 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Booking from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.05.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $172.83 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $231.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $171.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. Booking’s revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

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.