Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,370,455,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $992,026,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $770,673,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,404,063. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $208.89 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $190.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $227.72. The stock has a market cap of $156.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.45.

Booking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts currently assign Booking Holdings an average “Moderate Buy” rating, indicating that Wall Street remains broadly optimistic about the company’s outlook. Booking Holdings Given Average Rating of Moderate Buy by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: OpenTable, a Booking Holdings business, introduced more than 20 restaurant-focused product enhancements, including AI-powered search distribution, automation tools, and natural-language reporting. The rollout could strengthen OpenTable’s value proposition, improve restaurant engagement, and support longer-term growth in the company’s restaurant technology operations. OpenTable Launches New Product Features
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Financial Officer Ewout Steenbergen will speak at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 9. The presentation could provide updated commentary on travel demand, margins, and strategy, but no new financial guidance was announced. Booking Holdings Goldman Sachs Conference Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Glenn Fogel is scheduled to participate in a Citi Global TMT Conference session on September 8. The event may offer investors additional strategic insight, but the announcement itself has no immediate earnings impact. Booking Holdings Citi Conference Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: A report discusses whether Wall Street is bullish or bearish on BKNG, highlighting the importance of analyst expectations and valuation in current trading. The headline alone does not establish a specific change in consensus. Booking Holdings Stock: Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish?
• Negative Sentiment: Booking’s recent pullback may indicate investor caution after a substantial advance, particularly as valuation and the sustainability of travel-demand growth remain key considerations. The reported short-interest data showed zero shares and therefore provides no meaningful evidence of bearish short positioning.

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.