Boothbay Fund Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Boothbay Fund Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 2,274.6% during the first quarter, holding 2,707 shares valued at approximately $12.47 million.
• CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock for over $5.5 million, leading to a 3.95% decrease in his ownership of the company.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for Booking, with a consensus average target of $5,781.04 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."

Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,274.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,707 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,593 shares during the quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $12,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Booking by 300.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 8 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter worth $41,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter worth $41,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock traded up $63.90 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $5,569.70. The stock had a trading volume of 211,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 244,370. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,718.58 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The company has a market cap of $180.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.39. The business's 50 day moving average price is $5,615.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $5,200.02.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $5,750.00 price target (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,808.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,476.89, for a total value of $5,548,089.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,052 shares of company stock valued at $22,511,858 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.