Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $7,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gries Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 125 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 3.7% in the first quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 238 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total transaction of $79,379.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 732 shares in the company, valued at $3,873,729.36. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,141.53, for a total value of $3,213,456.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $118,162,642.46. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,424 shares of company stock worth $12,912,874. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Gordon Haskett reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,680.00 to $5,620.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 price objective (up previously from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group set a $6,806.00 price target on Booking and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,640.00 to $6,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,139.21.

Booking Trading Down 4.8%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,804.01 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5,246.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5,415.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $4,096.23 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market cap of $154.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.34.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The business had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $83.39 earnings per share. The business’s 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, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Booking Company 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.