Aurora Investment Counsel Has $3.51 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Aurora Investment Counsel reduced its position in Booking Holdings Inc. by 7.8%, now holding 606 shares worth approximately $3.51 million, making it the firm's largest holding.
• Wall Street analysts show a generally positive outlook for Booking, with target prices as high as $6,500, reflecting multiple upgrades and ratings of "Buy" or higher from various firms.
• Booking Holdings recently paid a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Aurora Investment Counsel trimmed its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 606 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises 1.8% of Aurora Investment Counsel's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Aurora Investment Counsel's holdings in Booking were worth $3,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in Booking by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial upped their target price on Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $6,250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $5,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,808.81.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,141.88 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $4,096.23 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5,454.63 and a 200-day moving average of $5,349.06. The company has a market capitalization of $166.65 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.35.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $41.90 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $722,045.80. This trade represents a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total value of $79,379.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 732 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,873,729.36. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,197 shares of company stock worth $17,260,963. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Company Profile

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.

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