Grimes & Company Inc. Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Grimes & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 41 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the first quarter worth about $32,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Booking by 100.0% during the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 3.3%

BKNG opened at $5,242.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5,512.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $5,312.53. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $4,096.23 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,808.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total transaction of $82,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,108,500. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,587.11, for a total transaction of $357,575.04. Following the sale, the director owned 195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,089,486.45. This trade represents a 24.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking 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.