Congress Asset Management Co. Decreases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. has decreased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 5.2%, now holding 3,205 shares valued at approximately $18.55 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their positions in Booking, which is primarily owned by 92.42% institutional investors.
• Booking reported strong earnings, with a Q2 EPS of $55.40, surpassing estimates and indicating a 16% year-over-year revenue growth.

Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,205 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Booking were worth $18,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in shares of Booking by 100.0% during the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $6,250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,808.81.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,548.00 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $4,060.98 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $5,553.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5,264.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total value 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 represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total transaction of $5,588,639.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 23,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,237,930.44. The trade was a 4.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking 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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