Linscomb Wealth Inc. Grows Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $6,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Booking by 100.0% during the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 price target (up previously from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $6,325.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,500.00 to $6,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6,117.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the sale, the director owned 131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,045.80. The trade was a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total transaction of $79,379.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 732 shares in the company, valued at $3,873,729.36. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,197 shares of company stock worth $17,260,963. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,080.21 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5,394.07 and its 200 day moving average is $5,384.14. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4,096.23 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Booking 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.