Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price Down 5.6% Following Insider Selling

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) fell 5.6% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $180.82 and last traded at $180.1880. 3,240,172 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 9,491,053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.86.

Specifically, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,269,532.64. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BKNG. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $260.00 to $237.40 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $256.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $272.00 price objective (down from $6,800.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $256.00 to $188.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.66.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company fundamentals and capital return remain strong: earlier in April BKNG executed a 25-for-1 stock split, reported a beat‑and‑raise quarter, increased the dividend and confirmed a very large remaining share‑repurchase authorization (~$21.8B) — positive for long‑term shareholder returns. Blockbuster split, beat and buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst notes: Tigress raised its price target to $260 and several firms maintain Buy ratings, supporting upside thesis from earnings momentum and buybacks. Tigress raises PT to $260
• Neutral Sentiment: Management access and upcoming events: CFO Ewout Steenbergen will present at the Barclays conference on May 5 — useful for management commentary but not an immediate catalyst. Barclays conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Street positioning: consensus remains around a “Moderate Buy” with a range of price targets — this keeps the stock supported but leaves room for volatility around news. Analyst consensus / MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: Italy’s antitrust agency opened an investigation into Booking.com over alleged misleading ranking/visibility practices for hotels — a notable legal/regulatory overhang that likely pressured the stock today. Reuters: Italy antitrust probe
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: a company director sold 1,125 shares under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan; while planned sales reduce red‑flag risk, the disclosure can still weigh on sentiment in a down session. SEC Form 4: insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst chop: Deutsche Bank trimmed its price target to $210 (kept Buy), which narrows implied upside and may have contributed to profit‑taking after the recent rally. Deutsche Bank lowers PT to $210

Booking Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $172.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.59. The company has a market cap of $142.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.20.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $46.88. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 25.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.