Oxbow Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 45,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,040,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% in the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,238,000 after buying an additional 12,130 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $361,463,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Booking by 1,663.9% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after acquiring an additional 27,071 shares in the last quarter. Rit Capital Partners PLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,396,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Booking by 2,643.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 527,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,008,000 after acquiring an additional 508,197 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,404,063. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s KAYAK brand reported that international airfares for UK travelers during September and October average 26% below peak-season prices. More affordable “shoulder season” travel could support booking volumes and reinforce expectations for resilient demand across Booking’s lodging and travel platforms. KAYAK shoulder season travel research
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst commentary remains broadly constructive. Booking has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.72, while Argus raised its target to $245 and maintained a buy rating. The company also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue rising 8.1% year over year. Booking analyst ratings and stock analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to $1.68 annually and a yield of approximately 0.8%. The payout is modest but signals continued capital returns; it is unlikely to be a major driver for the stock given the company’s growth-oriented valuation. Booking dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Vice President Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares for approximately $10.4 million, reducing his holdings by 11.77%. Director Vanessa Ames Wittman also sold 375 shares for about $79,000. Both transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, which makes them a weaker bearish signal; Millones still retains roughly $77.9 million in BKNG stock. Booking insider share sales

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush raised their price target on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays set a $210.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $208.20 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.06. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80. The firm has a market cap of $156.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $55.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.