Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC Boosts Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,570.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,099 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 0.8% of Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $51,396,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $210,352,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 862.0% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,890,000 after purchasing an additional 195,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in Booking by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 64,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $347,604,000 after buying an additional 11,042 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings and revenue beat expectations: Booking reported adjusted earnings of $2.54 per share versus the $2.43 consensus, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion, exceeding estimates of $7.19 billion. Growth in room nights, gross bookings and EBITDA pointed to continued travel demand. Booking Holdings Q2 results top estimates as travel demand remains resilient
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets and maintained bullish ratings: UBS lifted its target to $274 and kept a Buy rating, while Wedbush raised its target to $247 with an Outperform rating. Benchmark increased its target to $250, and BTIG reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $250 target. Booking Given New Price Target at UBS Group
• Positive Sentiment: Operational initiatives remain supportive: Management highlighted early benefits from artificial-intelligence personalization, higher savings and growth in its connected-trip offerings, which could support efficiency and longer-term expansion. BKNG Q2 Earnings Call Centers on Resilience, AI and Savings
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend declared: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable September 30 to shareholders of record September 11. The modest 0.8% yield is supportive of shareholder returns but unlikely to materially affect valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Director stock sale: Director Robert J. Mylod Jr. sold 1,000 shares worth $206,700 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and leaves him with 15,000 shares, it is not necessarily a bearish signal. SEC Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term concerns temper the optimism: Third-quarter revenue guidance was viewed as soft, room-night growth is slowing, and marketing expenses are rising faster than revenue. Geopolitical volatility and competition from Google also remain risks, while some commentary warned that the recent rally has left the stock technically overbought. Why Analysts Are Bullish on a Stock That’s Down 20%

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,100,500. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% 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. Insiders sold a total of 69,625 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,075 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark raised their price target on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.69.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $207.39 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80. The stock has a market cap of $155.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $178.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.73.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

About Booking

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.