Jacobs & Co. CA raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) by 2,548.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 58,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,653 shares during the quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Booking were worth $10,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Booking by 1,497.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Booking by 66,209.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 659,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,600,000 after purchasing an additional 658,788 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,271,041,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Booking by 2,215.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 478,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $85,334,000 after buying an additional 458,084 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,625 shares of company stock worth $11,652,075. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.
Key Booking News
- Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Booking reported adjusted earnings of $2.54 per share, above the $2.43 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion, surpassing forecasts of $7.19 billion. The results suggested resilient travel demand and helped support the stock’s advance.
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism strengthened: UBS raised its price target to $274, while Wedbush, Benchmark and BTIG maintained bullish ratings with targets ranging from $247 to $250. The analyst actions reinforce expectations for additional upside following the earnings report. Booking Given New Price Target at UBS Group
- Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth initiatives remain supportive: Management cited early benefits from artificial-intelligence personalization, cost savings and its connected-trip strategy, potentially improving efficiency and expanding customer engagement. Is Booking Holdings a Buying Opportunity?
- Neutral Sentiment: Dividend provides modest shareholder support: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable September 30 to shareholders of record September 11. The annualized yield of approximately 0.8% is unlikely to materially change the investment case.
- Neutral Sentiment: Director sale was scheduled in advance: Director Robert Mylod Jr. sold 1,000 shares for $206,700 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. He continues to own 15,000 shares, limiting the significance of the transaction as a bearish signal. Booking Director Stock Sale
- Negative Sentiment: Near-term outlook is less robust: Investors remain cautious about soft third-quarter revenue guidance, moderating room-night growth and marketing expenses rising faster than revenue. Competition from Google, geopolitical uncertainty and technically overbought conditions could limit further gains after the recent rally. Why Analysts Are Bullish on Booking
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Barclays set a $210.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wedbush raised their price target on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus set a $210.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.69.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on BKNG
Booking Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $214.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $179.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.56. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80.
Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Booking Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.
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.
Featured Articles
- Five stocks we like better than Booking
- Quantum Earnings Week: Winners and Losers Are Finally Emerging
- Axon’s Post-Earnings Pullback May Be More About Valuation Than Growth
- Uber Stock Lags in 2026, But Cash Flow and AV Bets Fuel Upside
- AppLovin Stock Hits 52-Week Low as Analysts Trim Targets, Stay Bullish
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BKNG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Booking Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Booking and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
