AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 13.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,331 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for about 1.2% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.15% of Booking worth $263,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 854,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,936,132,000 after buying an additional 9,333 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at $2,210,917,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Booking by 6.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 379,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,495,000 after acquiring an additional 24,030 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Booking by 4.9% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 377,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,183,690,000 after purchasing an additional 17,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 578,824.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,675,765,000 after purchasing an additional 289,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,085.22 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $4,096.23 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market cap of $163.90 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $5,212.37 and its 200 day moving average is $5,325.01.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $83.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,191.15, for a total value of $77,867.25. Following the sale, the director owned 687 shares in the company, valued at $3,566,320.05. The trade was a 2.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 953 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,181.34, for a total value of $4,937,817.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 19,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,631,984.10. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,324 shares of company stock worth $17,190,323. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Booking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KAYAK for Business launched a new “Events” feature to simplify planning and managing corporate event travel at scale — a product expansion that can deepen corporate adoption and increase wallet share from enterprise accounts. KAYAK for Business Events
• Positive Sentiment: OpenTable released consumer research showing broadened dining demand (Gen‑Z driving more inclusive celebrations), which supports reservation trends and restaurant bookings through Booking’s OpenTable business — a small demand signal for travel & dining revenue. OpenTable Valentine’s Day Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks flagged BKNG as a “trending” stock among its users — increased attention can amplify short-term volatility but is not a standalone financial catalyst. Zacks Trending Stock Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest data reported in the feed is internally inconsistent (shows 0 shares / NaN changes and a 0.0 days ratio). The noisy / unreliable short-interest reporting likely reflects a data issue rather than a material change in bearish positioning; investors should monitor corrected filings for clarity.
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary noted BKNG fell more than the broader market in the latest session, reflecting sentiment-driven selling rather than new fundamental weakness — this relative underperformance can pressure the share price near technical levels (below the 50- and 200-day SMAs). Zacks Market Drop Note

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $7,447.00 to $7,656.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,700.00 to $6,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Booking from $5,523.00 to $5,954.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,205.88.

Booking 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.