Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Weaver Capital Management LLC

Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,582.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,921 shares during the quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,646,302,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Booking by 2,674.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,420,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,026,348,000 after buying an additional 37,999,915 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth about $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth about $1,370,455,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in Booking by 1.0% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,489,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,057,274,000 after buying an additional 64,584 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Up 3.2%

BKNG opened at $165.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $183.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.55. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $220.81. The firm has a market cap of $124.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.13.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%. Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Booking from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.95.

Key Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking launched Vayo, an AI-powered personal travel agent now entering private beta, and plans to invest $100 million in the platform. Management is positioning Vayo as a tool that organizes complete trips, learns user preferences and continues assisting travelers after booking. The initiative could create new customer-engagement and monetization opportunities over time. Booking Holdings Launches Vayo with Planned $100M Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Booking recently advanced even as the broader market declined, suggesting company-specific buying interest. The move may reflect investor enthusiasm for Vayo and confidence in Booking’s travel-market position. Booking Holdings Advances While Market Declines
• Positive Sentiment: Booking has an average analyst price target of $233.95, well above the stock’s recent trading level, indicating substantial potential upside if the company meets expectations. Price targets are estimates, not guarantees. Booking Holdings Stock Has Average Price Target of $233.95
• Neutral Sentiment: BKNG has attracted unusually high attention among Zacks users, but the reports do not identify a new earnings forecast, upgrade or fundamental catalyst. The increased visibility may support trading interest without necessarily changing valuation. Booking Holdings Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports noting approximately $10.1 billion in advance deposits emphasize that much of the money belongs to hotels and other travel providers. This supports Booking’s role as a platform but should not be interpreted as equivalent to revenue or cash available to shareholders. Booking Advance Deposits

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.