Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 52.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,008,827 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 349,044 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.13% of Booking worth $164,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Booking by 2,674.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,026,348,000 after acquiring an additional 37,999,915 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,370,455,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,489,929 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,057,274,000 after acquiring an additional 64,584 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking launched Vayo, an AI-powered personal travel agent now entering private beta, and plans to invest $100 million in the platform. Management is positioning Vayo as a tool that organizes complete trips, learns user preferences and continues assisting travelers after booking. The initiative could create new customer-engagement and monetization opportunities over time. Booking Holdings Launches Vayo with Planned $100M Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Booking recently advanced even as the broader market declined, suggesting company-specific buying interest. The move may reflect investor enthusiasm for Vayo and confidence in Booking’s travel-market position. Booking Holdings Advances While Market Declines
• Positive Sentiment: Booking has an average analyst price target of $233.95, well above the stock’s recent trading level, indicating substantial potential upside if the company meets expectations. Price targets are estimates, not guarantees. Booking Holdings Stock Has Average Price Target of $233.95
• Neutral Sentiment: BKNG has attracted unusually high attention among Zacks users, but the reports do not identify a new earnings forecast, upgrade or fundamental catalyst. The increased visibility may support trading interest without necessarily changing valuation. Booking Holdings Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports noting approximately $10.1 billion in advance deposits emphasize that much of the money belongs to hotels and other travel providers. This supports Booking’s role as a platform but should not be interpreted as equivalent to revenue or cash available to shareholders. Booking Advance Deposits

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.95.

Booking Trading Up 3.2%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $165.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $183.10 and a 200-day moving average of $177.55. The firm has a market cap of $124.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.13. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value 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 trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% 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. Insiders sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.

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