Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Takes $3.88 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,884,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays set a $210.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore set a $245.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Key Booking News

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

Booking Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $208.20 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The stock 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.06.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Booking 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.