CX Institutional Increases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: CX Institutional expanded its Booking Holdings position by 2,373% in the second quarter, while hedge funds and other institutions collectively own 92.42% of BKNG shares.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: Booking reported adjusted EPS of $2.54 and revenue of $7.35 billion, exceeding estimates, with revenue up 8.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $234.98.
• Risks and shareholder returns remain in focus: Third-quarter revenue guidance came in below consensus, and management cited Middle East volatility and rising marketing costs. Booking also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, while insiders have sold shares in recent months.

CX Institutional lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,373.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,563 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,055 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional's holdings in Booking were worth $2,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,396,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,352,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 862.0% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,167,890,000 after purchasing an additional 195,411 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 64,908 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $347,604,000 after buying an additional 11,042 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. Truist Financial set a $242.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Booking from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.98.

Booking Stock Up 6.6%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $207.02 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The firm's 50 day moving average is $177.73 and its 200-day moving average is $176.76. The company has a market capitalization of $160.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 120.96%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.43 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,625 shares of company stock worth $11,445,375. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Key Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations: Adjusted earnings per share were $2.54 versus the $2.43–$2.45 consensus, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion, ahead of the $7.19 billion estimate. Room nights, gross bookings and EBITDA also surpassed expectations. Booking Holdings Q2 results top estimates as travel demand remains resilient
• Positive Sentiment: Travel demand remains resilient: Strong domestic and regional travel supported growth across the platform, helping ease concerns about weaker long-haul international demand and Middle East-related disruption. Investors viewed the performance as evidence that Booking’s business remains durable. Booking Holdings Stock Surges on Better-Than-Expected Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets: UBS increased its target to $274 and initiated a Buy rating; Benchmark raised its target to $250 and also rated the stock Buy; Wedbush lifted its target to $247 with an Outperform rating. BTIG reaffirmed Buy with a $250 target. These revisions reinforce the post-earnings bullish sentiment. Analyst target updates
• Positive Sentiment: AI and efficiency initiatives add longer-term potential: Management highlighted early benefits from AI-powered personalization, connected-trip development and higher savings, while Booking’s transaction infrastructure remains difficult for generative AI competitors to replicate. BKNG Q2 Earnings Call Centers on Resilience, AI and Savings
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target from $175 to $220 but maintained a Neutral rating, indicating more limited upside after the rally. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst update
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term risks remain: Booking guided third-quarter revenue to $9.4–$9.5 billion, below the roughly $9.7 billion consensus estimate. Management also cited Middle East-related volatility, while marketing expenses growing faster than revenue could pressure customer-acquisition costs and margins. Booking Holdings: The Buy Thesis Survives Q2

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company's businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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