Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Ninety One North America Inc.

Ninety One North America Inc. cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 417,946 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 27,439 shares during the period. Booking accounts for about 3.4% of Ninety One North America Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $68,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 business. The platform is intended to organize travelers’ bookings, learn their preferences and provide ongoing trip support. Investors may view the initiative as a potential long-term growth opportunity and a way to strengthen Booking’s customer relationship. Booking Holdings Launches Vayo with Planned $100M Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price targets remain well above the stock’s recent trading level, with one report citing an average target of $233.95. That gap may support investor interest, though price targets are estimates rather than guarantees. Booking Holdings Average Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking has attracted unusually high attention from Zacks users. The coverage largely discusses investor interest and what may lie ahead rather than reporting a new operating result, estimate revision or corporate action. Booking Holdings Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports note that approximately $10.1 billion in advance deposits primarily belongs to travel providers such as hotels. These customer-related funds can support working capital, but they also represent obligations and should not be treated as Booking’s revenue or cash available for unrestricted use. Booking Advance Deposits

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded up $6.31 on Thursday, hitting $166.99. 3,428,814 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,155,419. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $183.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.13. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $220.81.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Truist Financial set a $216.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking 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.