Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Smith Anglin Financial LLC

Smith Anglin Financial LLC reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 43 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3 shares during the quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 17.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 33.4% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,148,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 2,292.3% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,454.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $176.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $4,060.98 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5,548.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5,283.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $41.90 earnings per share. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $722,045.80. The trade was a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total value of $82,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,108,500. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $5,750.00 price objective (up from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,808.81.

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.