Insider Selling: Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) CEO Sells 10 Shares of Stock

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) CEO Glenn Fogel sold 10 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,043.49, for a total transaction of $40,434.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 19,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,989,577.15. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Booking Trading Up 3.1%

Booking stock traded up $129.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $4,269.99. 674,508 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 392,771. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5,057.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5,201.54. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4,020.54 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.21.

Shares of Booking are going to split on the morning of Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $47.96 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $41.55 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Booking by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 25.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd acquired a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 13.3% in the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 136 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results: revenue of $6.35B (+16% YoY) topped expectations and the company reported EPS near/above consensus, supporting the rally. Zacks: Booking Beats Q4 Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Top‑line strength and cash generation: gross profit and operating profit expanded, operating cash flow more than doubled — positives for margins and financial flexibility. Quiver: Q4 Financials & Cash Flow
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance lift: BKNG gave Q1 revenue guidance of $5.4B–$5.5B, above Street consensus (~$5.3B), suggesting continued demand momentum into the new quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: 25‑for‑1 stock split: the announced split (shares distributed early April) improves share liquidity and may broaden retail demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Media/strategy coverage: outlets are comparing Booking vs. Airbnb and highlighting brand/AI initiatives (KAYAK) that speak to longer‑term positioning but are not immediate earnings drivers. Forbes: Booking vs Airbnb Yahoo: KAYAK & AI Push
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Quiver flags substantial insider sales activity (primarily CEO and other insiders) over recent months — a potential sentiment headwind for some investors. Quiver: Insider Trading
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed EPS reads: while several outlets report an EPS beat (~$48.80), at least one data vendor showed diluted EPS below some Street models — this produced short‑term uncertainty for traders focused on per‑share metrics. Quiver: EPS Variance

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. UBS Group lowered their price target on Booking from $6,806.00 to $6,608.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6,250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,920.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Twenty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,171.56.

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.