Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Purchased by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 249.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,099 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 1.1% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 23,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 309.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 381 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA grew its position in shares of Booking by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 75,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,237,000 after buying an additional 16,242 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,090,000. Finally, Bullock Wealth Management Group grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bullock Wealth Management Group now owns 3,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Key Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking launched Vayo, an AI-powered personal travel agent now entering private beta, and plans to invest $100 million in the platform. Management is positioning Vayo as a tool that organizes complete trips, learns user preferences and continues assisting travelers after booking. The initiative could create new customer-engagement and monetization opportunities over time. Booking Holdings Launches Vayo with Planned $100M Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Booking recently advanced even as the broader market declined, suggesting company-specific buying interest. The move may reflect investor enthusiasm for Vayo and confidence in Booking’s travel-market position. Booking Holdings Advances While Market Declines
• Positive Sentiment: Booking has an average analyst price target of $233.95, well above the stock’s recent trading level, indicating substantial potential upside if the company meets expectations. Price targets are estimates, not guarantees. Booking Holdings Stock Has Average Price Target of $233.95
• Neutral Sentiment: BKNG has attracted unusually high attention among Zacks users, but the reports do not identify a new earnings forecast, upgrade or fundamental catalyst. The increased visibility may support trading interest without necessarily changing valuation. Booking Holdings Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports noting approximately $10.1 billion in advance deposits emphasize that much of the money belongs to hotels and other travel providers. This supports Booking’s role as a platform but should not be interpreted as equivalent to revenue or cash available to shareholders. Booking Advance Deposits

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% 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, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock worth $17,182,274. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities began coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.95.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $165.80 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $220.81. The company has a market cap of $124.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.55.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.