Ledyard National Bank Sells 7 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Ledyard National Bank trimmed its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Booking were worth $301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,956,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,620,154,000 after purchasing an additional 30,054 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Booking by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 370,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,706,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Booking by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 296,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,365,170,000 after purchasing an additional 18,268 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Booking by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 226,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,297,331,000 after purchasing an additional 19,578 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,023,655,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,080.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $164.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5,394.07 and a 200 day moving average of $5,384.14. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $4,096.23 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.Booking’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $83.39 earnings per share. Booking has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total value of $79,379.70. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,045.80. The trade was a 32.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,197 shares of company stock worth $17,260,963 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,750.00 price target (up from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $5,433.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Booking from $5,590.00 to $5,550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,117.90.

Booking 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.