waypoint wealth counsel Raises Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

waypoint wealth counsel raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 13.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. waypoint wealth counsel’s holdings in Booking were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 27.3% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Booking by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 75,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $437,284,000 after purchasing an additional 11,829 shares during the period. Overbrook Management Corp raised its position in Booking by 49.5% in the 2nd quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 3,314 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $3,592,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,164.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $167.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5,492.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $5,321.11. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $4,096.23 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,476.89, for a total value of $5,548,089.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total value of $82,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 747 shares in the company, valued at $4,108,500. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,195 shares of company stock worth $23,467,630. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6,250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, September 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $5,975.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $6,200.00 price target (up previously from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,808.81.

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.