Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases 4,247 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6,434.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,247 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% during the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,238,000 after purchasing an additional 12,130 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Booking by 1,663.9% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $51,396,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $245 price target, implying approximately 25% upside from the referenced share price. The firm views Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency despite industry challenges, providing a potentially meaningful catalyst for the shares. Rosenblatt sees Booking as the best-positioned online travel agency
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks characterized Booking as a strong momentum stock based on its style-score framework, reinforcing the case that recent price and fundamental trends could attract momentum-oriented investors. Why Booking is a strong momentum stock
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank brokers raised their earnings estimates for Booking, suggesting improving expectations for the company’s future profitability. Higher forecasts can support valuation, although the article provides no details on the size or rationale of the revisions. Erste Group Bank lifts Booking earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Priceline CEO Brigit Zimmerman discussed travel trends ahead of the Labor Day weekend. The interview may offer insight into demand and booking patterns, but the available report does not specify whether the commentary was favorable or unfavorable for Booking. Priceline CEO discusses travel trends
• Negative Sentiment: Booking has lagged the broader market this year, which could weigh on investor sentiment and highlights concerns about online-travel-sector growth or valuation. Separately, director Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares worth about $610,440 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; the planned nature of the transaction reduces its signaling value, but it remains a modest negative headline.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 73,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,935,432. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 80,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,722,744 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $195.69 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $193.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.91. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $226.10. The firm has a market cap of $147.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BKNG. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.70.

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.