Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) Stock on November 28, 2025: Institutional Flows, Short Interest Shift and What It Means for Investors

Published: November 28, 2025

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) — the parent company of Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable and other leading travel brands — remained in the spotlight on November 28, 2025, as a wave of fresh institutional filings, updated short‑interest data and ongoing reaction to a strong third quarter shaped sentiment around the stock. ^[1]

On Friday, BKNG shares closed at $4,914.69, up a fraction on the day and valuing the company at roughly $158.4 billion in market capitalization. ^[2] The stock trades within a 12‑month range of about $4,096 to $5,839, with a trailing price‑to‑earnings ratio near 32x and a P/E/G ratio around 1.6, signalling investors are still willing to pay a premium multiple for Booking’s growth profile. ^[3]

At the same time, year‑to‑date performance has lagged the broader market. Recent coverage notes that Booking shares are roughly flat to slightly negative in 2025 and down mid‑single digits over the past year, even as the S&P 500 has posted double‑digit gains. ^[4] That disconnect between fundamentals and share performance is a big part of why BKNG continues to draw attention from both institutional investors and retail traders.

1. Why Booking Holdings Is in the News Today

News flow on November 28, 2025 around Booking Holdings common stock is dominated by three themes:

A flurry of new 13F disclosures – Several large institutional investors filed updates showing they either added to or trimmed BKNG positions, including state pension funds, global asset managers and wealth advisers. ^[5]
Short interest moving lower – New short‑interest data reported by Benzinga shows bearish bets against BKNG have declined meaningfully since the last reporting date. ^[6]
Valuation and underperformance commentary – Analysts and commentators are highlighting that Booking’s stock has been “stomped” by the market despite strong earnings, and now trades below its historical forward multiple even as its fundamentals remain solid. ^[7]

All of this sits on top of a robust Q3 2025 earnings report and a new dividend, which together form the fundamental backdrop for the day’s headlines. ^[8]

2. Stock Snapshot: Price, Market Cap and Ownership

As of the close on November 28, 2025:

Share price: $4,914.69
Market cap: About $158.4 billion
1‑year market‑cap change: roughly ‑5.5% ^[9]
12‑month low / high: ~$4,096.23 / $5,839.41 ^[10]
Trailing P/E: ~31.9
P/E/G ratio: ~1.57
Beta: ~1.34 (moderately more volatile than the market) ^[11]

Ownership is heavily skewed toward professional investors:

Institutional ownership is estimated in the low‑ to mid‑90% range, depending on the data provider. ^[12]
Insider ownership stands at roughly 0.16–0.17%, reflecting a widely held, large‑cap profile rather than a founder‑controlled structure. ^[13]

Short interest remains low relative to many large‑cap stocks, which we’ll come back to below.

3. Institutional Investors Reshuffle Their BKNG Positions

One of the clearest stories on November 28 is that big money is actively rebalancing Booking Holdings rather than abandoning it. A series of 13F‑driven articles from MarketBeat detail how several institutions adjusted their stakes in Q2 filings that have just become public. ^[14]

Here are the key moves reported today:

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System

Action: Trimmed its BKNG position by 0.8%, selling 251 shares.
Position after sale:32,404 shares, valued at about $187.6 million, representing roughly 0.10% of Booking’s outstanding shares. ^[15]

Despite the trim, Florida’s state pension fund remains a significant long‑term shareholder, suggesting a modest portfolio rebalance rather than a fundamental exit.

Korea Investment CORP

Action: Cut its stake by 6.8%, selling 2,378 shares in Q2.
Position after sale:32,545 shares, worth approximately $188.4 million and likewise around 0.10% of the company. ^[16]

Korea Investment’s move is slightly more aggressive than Florida’s, but still leaves it with a substantial exposure to BKNG.

Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Action:Increased its Booking stake by 30.6%, purchasing 629 shares.
Position after purchase:2,687 shares, valued at about $15.3 million. ^[17]

Vinva is leaning into the name following Booking’s earnings beat and newly announced dividend, indicating confidence in the travel giant’s long‑term trajectory.

Bell Asset Management Ltd

Action: Slashed its holding by 80.7%, selling 1,510 shares.
Position after sale:362 shares, worth roughly $2.1 million. ^[18]

Bell’s move is one of the more dramatic reductions reported today, although in absolute terms its stake remains relatively small compared with larger pension and sovereign funds.

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.

Action:Increased its stake by 7.7%, buying 415 shares.
Position after purchase:5,778 shares valued at about $33.45 million. BKNG now represents around 1.6% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 25th‑largest holding. ^[19]

This suggests Booking remains a meaningful core holding for the adviser, not a small tactical trade.

Inceptionr LLC

Action: Cut its stake by 43.5%, selling 103 shares.
Position after sale:134 shares, worth approximately $776,000. ^[20]

Inceptionr’s position is modest in dollar terms but highlights that some smaller institutional players are taking profits or reallocating capital after BKNG’s multi‑year run‑up.

Quadrant Capital Group LLC

Action: Boosted its position by 36.2%, acquiring 192 shares.
Position after purchase:723 shares, valued at around $4.2 million. ^[21]

Choreo LLC

Action: Trimmed its holdings by 8.2%, selling 113 shares.
Position after sale:1,266 shares, worth approximately $7.3 million. ^[22]

What the Institutional Flows Say

Taken together, the story is less “big money bails out” and more active rebalancing:

Large, long‑term holders are nudging positions up or down by single‑digit percentages.
Several firms — notably Vinva, Quadrant and Baltimore Washington — are adding to positions, even as others like Bell Asset and Inceptionr scale back. ^[23]

With over 90% of shares held by institutions and hedge funds, the stock’s ownership base remains firmly in professional hands, reinforcing BKNG’s status as a blue‑chip travel‑technology name. ^[24]

4. Short Interest Declines: Bears Step Back (a Bit)

Fresh short‑interest numbers highlighted by Benzinga show bearish bets on BKNG are easing:

Short interest: about 591,000 shares sold short.
Share of free float shorted: roughly 1.84%.
Days to cover: about 2.03 days based on recent trading volume. ^[25]

For context, StockTitan reports a similar short‑interest figure of roughly 1.8% of float, with institutional ownership above 96%. ^[26]

Compared with many large‑cap names where short interest can hover near 5–10% of float, Booking’s short base is modest, signaling:

Some skepticism about valuation and macro risks,
But no large, coordinated bet against the company at current prices.

For long‑term shareholders, declining short interest can be read as a marginal positive — fewer investors are willing to stake money on a near‑term drop in the stock.

5. Earnings Backdrop: Q3 2025 Beat and Steady Travel Demand

The flurry of institutional and short‑interest headlines makes the most sense when viewed against Booking’s strong Q3 2025 performance, reported in late October.

Key Q3 2025 Numbers

According to the company’s earnings release, Reuters and Zacks: ^[27]

Gross bookings:$49.7 billion, up about 14% year over year.
Revenue:$9.01 billion, beating consensus (~$8.7 billion) and rising about 12–13% year over year.
Adjusted EPS: around $99.50, beating expectations by roughly 3–4% and growing high‑teens year over year.
Room nights: about 323 million, up more than 8%, driven by resilient global travel demand and strength in Asia and alternative accommodations.
Adjusted EBITDA: approximately $4.2 billion, with margins expanding to the high‑40% range, helped by marketing efficiency and scale.

Management also highlighted:

Continued momentum in its “Connected Trip” strategy, which bundles multiple travel components into a single seamless experience. ^[28]
Ongoing growth in alternative accommodations, now over 8.6 million listings, and solid performance in flights and other verticals. ^[29]
A transformation program where targeted cost savings were raised to roughly $500–$550 million in annualized run‑rate benefits, up from previous guidance. ^[30]

The quarter did include a substantial non‑cash impairment charge related to KAYAK, reflecting updated assumptions about future customer‑acquisition costs and profitability in that business. ^[31] But even after that, Booking’s underlying cash generation remained very strong.

Dividend and Capital Returns

A major structural change for BKNG shareholders in 2025 has been the company’s move toward regular dividends:

Quarterly dividend:$9.60 per share,
Annualized rate:$38.40,
Implied yield: roughly 0.8% at current prices,
Payout ratio: just under 25% of earnings. ^[32]

The dividend is payable on December 31, 2025 to shareholders of record on December 5, with an ex‑dividend date also on December 5. ^[33]

In addition, Booking continues to be an active share repurchaser, having bought back billions of dollars’ worth of stock in recent years and still carrying a large remaining authorization. ^[34]

6. Guidance and Outlook

Zacks’ recap of the quarter and the company’s own guidance give a clearer sense of what management sees ahead: ^[35]

Q4 2025 outlook:
- Room nights expected to grow 4–6% year over year.
- Gross bookings targeted to increase 11–13%.
- Revenue growth projected at 10–12%.
- Adjusted EBITDA forecast in the $2.0–$2.1 billion range, implying solid mid‑teens growth.
Full‑year 2025:
- Management expects low‑double‑digit revenue growth and mid‑teens adjusted EBITDA growth, despite a more uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop.

This echoes Reuters’ takeaway that Booking is benefitting from steady travel demand and increased bundling on its platforms, even while executives remain cautious about macro risks and global tensions. ^[36]

Zacks currently assigns the stock a Rank #3 (Hold), reflecting expectations of more moderate performance in the near term rather than a clear buy or sell signal. ^[37]

7. Valuation, Analyst Targets and Sentiment

Despite its earnings momentum, Booking’s share price has struggled to keep pace with the market in 2025.

Trading Below Historical Forward Multiples

An analysis from 24/7 Wall St. points out that: ^[38]

BKNG is roughly 1% lower year‑to‑date, lagging the S&P 500 by around 15 percentage points amid concerns about a “travel cooldown.”
Shares trade at about 18x forward earnings, below the company’s historical forward multiple near 25x, even though Q3 revenue and gross bookings are growing double‑digits.

That narrative dovetails with other performance comparisons showing BKNG up only marginally YTD and down mid‑single digits over 12 months, leaving it behind both the broader index and some high‑growth peers. ^[39]

Consensus Rating: “Moderate Buy”

At the same time, Wall Street remains broadly constructive on the stock:

MarketBeat’s aggregated data shows one Strong Buy, 26 Buy and eight Hold ratings, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus. ^[40]
The average 12‑month price target sits around $6,141.52, with several recent target hikes into the $6,200–$6,400 range from firms including Seaport Global, Redburn, Benchmark, Barclays and BNP Paribas Exane. ^[41]

With the stock closing near $4,915, that implies potential upside of roughly 25% if consensus targets prove accurate — though price targets are not guarantees, and they frequently move with macro conditions and company performance. ^[42]

Dividend Yield and Quality Profile

On the income side, BKNG’s ~0.8% dividend yield is modest but backed by:

High margins and strong free cash flow,
A conservative payout ratio under 25%,
And a long track record of profitable growth in online travel. ^[43]

For many investors, Booking sits squarely in the “quality growth” bucket: a mature, dominant platform in a structurally growing industry, now layering in shareholder returns via buybacks and dividends.

8. Competitive and Strategic Context

Booking’s story doesn’t unfold in a vacuum. Several recent developments provide additional context for today’s stock moves:

Competition with Airbnb and direct booking channels: 24/7 Wall St. notes that worries about slowing travel growth, competition from Airbnb and hotel loyalty programs, and geopolitical uncertainty have contributed to BKNG’s underperformance this year despite solid results. ^[44]
AI and product innovation: Booking continues to invest in AI‑powered travel tools and integrations. Corporate communications highlight initiatives such as OpenTable’s integration with VOICEplug AI to automate restaurant reservations and KAYAK’s data‑driven insights into holiday travel trends — both part of the broader Booking Holdings ecosystem. ^[45]
Scale and workforce: TradingView data places Booking’s global workforce at around 24,300 employees as of late November 2025, underscoring the company’s heft as one of the largest travel‑technology platforms in the world. ^[46]

Together, these factors frame Booking as both structurally well‑positioned and yet subject to cyclical and competitive headwinds that can weigh on its share price in the short term.

9. What Today’s News Could Mean for BKNG Shareholders

The flurry of November 28 headlines around Booking Holdings common stock paints a nuanced picture:

Positive signals

Strong fundamentals: Double‑digit growth in gross bookings and revenue, high‑teens EPS growth, and expanding EBITDA margins. ^[47]
Capital returns: A growing dividend plus ongoing buybacks give shareholders multiple ways to benefit from cash generation. ^[48]
Supportive analyst backdrop: A Moderate Buy consensus and price targets well above the current quote indicate many analysts see the stock as undervalued relative to its long‑term prospects. ^[49]
Low short interest: Bears are present but not dominant, with less than 2% of float sold short. ^[50]

Points to watch

Institutional rebalancing: While some institutions are adding to BKNG, others have sharply reduced stakes or taken profits. That suggests a degree of uncertainty over near‑term returns, even if long‑term conviction remains. ^[51]
Macro and travel cycle risks: Concerns about economic slowdowns, geopolitical tensions and a “travel cooldown” continue to hang over the sector and may help explain why the stock trades below its historical forward multiple. ^[52]
Competitive pressure and technology shifts: The rise of AI‑driven travel tools, search‑engine changes and aggressive rivals like Airbnb mean Booking must keep investing simply to defend its position. ^[53]

For existing shareholders, today’s news reinforces the idea that BKNG is a high‑quality, institutionally owned travel leader whose stock has underperformed despite solid results, leading many analysts to view it as potentially undervalued — but not without real cyclical and competitive risks.

For prospective investors, it’s important to remember that:

Nothing in this article is personalized financial advice.

Before buying or selling Booking Holdings common stock (or any security), consider your own risk tolerance, time horizon and portfolio needs, and consult a qualified financial adviser if you’re unsure.

References