AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 2,883 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 56,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,883 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises approximately 1.6% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $325,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the first quarter valued at $28,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth $35,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Booking by 100.0% during the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total transaction of $79,379.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,729.36. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total transaction of $352,755.20. Following the sale, the director owned 131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,045.80. This represents a 32.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,197 shares of company stock valued at $17,260,963. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6,250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6,010.41.

Booking Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,146.16 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $4,096.23 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5,432.78 and its 200-day moving average is $5,374.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.35.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $41.90 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.