Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. has reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 3.0%, now owning 1,853 shares valued at approximately $10.7 million.
• Insider selling activity included Director Larry Quinlan and Vanessa Ames Wittman, who together sold a total of 4,195 shares worth over $23 million in the past ninety days.
• Booking's quarterly earnings report exceeded expectations, with an EPS of $55.40, surpassing the consensus estimate of $50.32, and a revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,853 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $10,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its position in shares of Booking by 100.0% in the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total transaction of $352,755.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $722,045.80. The trade was a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the business's 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,195 shares of company stock worth $23,467,630 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Down 0.5%

BKNG opened at $5,164.93 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $4,096.23 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5,492.50 and a two-hundred 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 (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $41.90 earnings per share. Booking's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Booking's payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $5,750.00 target price (up from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,808.81.

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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