Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Down 5.6% on Insider Selling

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s stock price was down 5.6% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $180.82 and last traded at $180.1880. Approximately 3,240,172 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 9,491,053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.86.

Specifically, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at $55,269,532.64. The trade was a 5.31% 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $244.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Oppenheimer set a $240.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Susquehanna set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Booking from $240.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.66.

Trending Headlines about Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial raised its price target to $260 and kept a Buy rating, signaling bullish analyst confidence following recent results. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: OpenTable (a Booking unit) completed the acquisition of Canadian reservation platform Libro, expanding Booking’s restaurant/reservations footprint in Quebec — strategically accretive to its ancillary services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages continue to skew positive: aggregate coverage shows a “Moderate Buy” consensus, which supports medium-term investor confidence. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Ewout Steenbergen will speak at the Barclays Americas Select Conference on May 5 — useful management access but mainly informational ahead of earnings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Street previews (Zacks/Yahoo) expect earnings growth next week — raises odds of a beat but also heightens short-term volatility around the report. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Italy’s antitrust regulator opened an investigation into Booking.com over alleged unfair commercial practices tied to hotel ranking and fee-driven visibility — a regulatory risk that could pressure reputation and require changes to platform displays or fees. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan (filed with the SEC). While the trade was planned (reducing governance red-flag risk), insider selling can still be perceived negatively in the near term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank trimmed its price target to $210 (kept Buy), narrowing implied upside and potentially cooling some investor enthusiasm. Read More.

Booking Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $142.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.84.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $46.88. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.26%.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in Booking by 150.0% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in Booking during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.