Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Purchased by Allworth Financial LP

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased significantly: Allworth Financial boosted its Booking Holdings position by 1,615.6% to 13,931 shares, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: Booking has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $236.70, supported by recent earnings that beat estimates and revenue growth of 8.1% year over year.
• Travel demand remains resilient, but strategic headwinds persist: Ongoing demand supports Booking’s outlook, while the European General Court’s decision blocking its ETraveli acquisition represents a setback; insiders have also sold $16.9 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 1,615.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,931 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,119 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP's holdings in Booking were worth $2,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new stake in Booking during the second quarter worth approximately $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 2,860.8% in the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 12,130 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1,663.9% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,071 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,643.0% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 527,425 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $94,008,000 after purchasing an additional 508,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush increased their target price on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744. 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: Travel demand remains resilient despite geopolitical conflicts and a slowing macroeconomic environment, supporting the long-term outlook for Booking’s core lodging and travel businesses. Booking Holdings Stock: A Travel Stock to Buy Right Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking presented at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference and Citi’s Global TMT Conference. The available reports are conference transcripts and do not identify a major new catalyst for the stock. Goldman Sachs Conference Transcript Citi Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: A September short-interest update reported zero shares short, unchanged from the prior period, with a zero-day days-to-cover ratio. Because the figures show no measurable short position, the update provides little directional information.
• Negative Sentiment: The European General Court sided with EU regulators in rejecting Booking’s challenge to the veto of its ETraveli acquisition. The decision ends Booking’s effort to complete the deal and represents a setback to its strategic expansion plans. Judges Side With EU Regulators in Blocking Booking’s Acquisition of ETraveli

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

BKNG opened at $174.33 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $194.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.83. The company has a market cap of $130.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.07.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.

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