Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd Has $18.59 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 253.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,451 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,476 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 1.9% of Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $18,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Booking during the second quarter worth $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,750.00 price target (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $6,000.00 target price on Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Global Securities boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Booking from $6,450.00 to $6,630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,139.21.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the company’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 value of $75,450.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,510. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,800,000. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,452 shares of company stock worth $17,987,397. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,768.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5,182.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5,398.75. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $4,096.23 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $83.39 EPS. Booking has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

About Booking

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.