Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG is Aristides Capital LLC’s Largest Position

Aristides Capital LLC increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5,657.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,431 shares during the quarter. 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 reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Booking by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 261,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,100,506,000 after acquiring an additional 43,602 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP grew its position in Booking by 24.9% in the first quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 1,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,901,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the first quarter valued at approximately $505,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 70.4% during the first quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,898,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Booking by 1,497.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,665,168,000 after purchasing an additional 816,022 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of BKNG opened at $172.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $133.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $171.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.12. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released 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 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.05.

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.