Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Position Lowered by Meritage Portfolio Management

Key Points

• Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, now owning 4,297 shares valued at approximately $24.88 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Kingswood Wealth Advisors and Vontobel Holding, increased their positions in Booking, demonstrating ongoing interest as institutional ownership stands at 92.42%.
• Booking's CEO and a director recently sold shares, with the CEO's transaction amounting to over $5.58 million, highlighting minor insider selling despite a strong overall performance, with earnings per share exceeding estimates.

Meritage Portfolio Management cut its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,297 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 252 shares during the period. Booking comprises about 1.6% of Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Booking were worth $24,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Booking by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 75,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $437,284,000 after purchasing an additional 11,829 shares in the last quarter. Overbrook Management Corp lifted its holdings in Booking by 49.5% in the 2nd quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 3,314 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $19,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,592,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $6,200.00 target price (up from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,808.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total transaction of $5,588,639.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 23,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,237,930.44. This represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total transaction of $82,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,108,500. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,164.93 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5,492.50 and a 200-day moving average of $5,321.11. The company has a market cap of $167.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.35. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $4,096.23 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $41.90 EPS. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors 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 yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

About Booking

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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