Ancora Advisors LLC Purchases 69,749 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors increased its Booking Holdings stake by 2,775.5% in the second quarter, purchasing 69,749 additional shares for a total position valued at approximately $12.88 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Booking insiders sold 80,550 shares worth about $16.7 million over the past 90 days, including sales by the CFO and an insider under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans; insiders retain only 0.17% ownership.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $236.70. Booking recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while shares were trading at $195.69 and remained below their 52-week high of $226.10.

Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,775.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,262 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 69,749 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $12,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% during the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 12,130 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Booking by 1,663.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 27,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rit Capital Partners PLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,396,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,935,432. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 80,550 shares of company stock worth $16,722,744 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Key Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $245 price target, implying approximately 25% upside from the referenced share price. The firm views Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency despite industry challenges, providing a potentially meaningful catalyst for the shares. Rosenblatt sees Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks characterized Booking as a strong momentum stock based on its style-score framework, reinforcing the case that recent price and fundamental trends could attract momentum-oriented investors. Why Booking is a strong momentum stock
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank brokers raised their earnings estimates for Booking, suggesting improving expectations for the company’s future profitability. Higher forecasts can support valuation, although the article provides no details on the size or rationale of the revisions. Erste Group Bank lifts Booking earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Priceline CEO Brigit Zimmerman discussed travel trends ahead of the Labor Day weekend. The interview may offer insight into demand and booking patterns, but the available report does not specify whether the commentary was favorable or unfavorable for Booking. Priceline CEO discusses travel trends
• Negative Sentiment: Booking has lagged the broader market this year, which could weigh on investor sentiment and highlights concerns about online-travel-sector growth or valuation. Separately, director Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares worth about $610,440 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; the planned nature of the transaction reduces its signaling value, but it remains a modest negative headline.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.70.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $195.69 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $193.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.91. The stock has a market cap of $147.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $226.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $55.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Booking's dividend payout ratio 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.

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