Smith Salley Wealth Management Purchases 80 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Smith Salley Wealth Management has increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 20.4%, acquiring an additional 80 shares, bringing their total to 473 shares valued at approximately $2.74 million.
• Multiple brokerages have upgraded Booking's stock ratings, with UBS raising its price target from $5,750 to $6,300, while the average target price is currently set at $5,808.81.
• Booking will pay a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% and highlighting its commitment to shareholder returns.

Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 20.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 473 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management's holdings in Booking were worth $2,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research 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 given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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 on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,476.89, for a total transaction of $5,548,089.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,620 shares in the company, valued at $134,841,031.80. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director owned 747 shares in the company, valued at $4,108,500. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,195 shares of company stock worth $23,467,630 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,548.00 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $5,553.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $5,276.88. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4,060.98 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The company has a market cap of $179.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

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

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.

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