Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Bought by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 165.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,412 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for 0.9% of Castleark Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $29,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $164.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.10. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Susquehanna set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.14.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.