4,921 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Weaver Capital Management LLC

Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,582.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,921 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 1,615.6% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 13,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after buying an additional 13,119 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at about $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% in the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,238,000 after buying an additional 12,130 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 1,663.9% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after buying an additional 27,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,549.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 88,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,077,000 after buying an additional 85,592 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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 shares were 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 $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,935,432. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BKNG. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.95.

More 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

Booking Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of 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 capitalization of $124.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.55.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.