Camden National Bank Invests $249,000 in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Camden National Bank purchased a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 43 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 15.6% during the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Booking by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 75,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $437,284,000 after acquiring an additional 11,829 shares during the period. Covey Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Covey Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,467,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Booking by 12.7% in the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,262,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Booking by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 9,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,624,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,768.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $153.69 billion, a PE ratio of 30.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.34. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $4,096.23 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5,182.84 and a 200 day moving average of $5,400.37.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The business had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $83.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Booking has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6,250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group set a $6,806.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $6,150.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $6,325.00 target price on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,139.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,007.69, for a total value of $2,003,076.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,922,265.19. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,030.00, for a total transaction of $75,450.00. Following the sale, the director owned 717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,510. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,452 shares of company stock worth $17,987,397. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.