Ampersand Capital Group L.P. Has $13.36 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Ampersand Capital Group L.P. has reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 47.3%, selling 2,600 shares to end with a total of 2,900 shares valued at approximately $13.36 million.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Booking, with estimates ranging from $5,418 to $6,700 following its recent earnings report that exceeded expectations.
• Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with the payment date set for September 30th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

Ampersand Capital Group L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 47.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,900 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Booking comprises approximately 9.2% of Ampersand Capital Group L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Ampersand Capital Group L.P.'s holdings in Booking were worth $13,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Booking by 300.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 8 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Booking during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $80.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5,505.80. 202,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 166,659. The company has a market capitalization of $178.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,700.97 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5,615.88 and a 200 day moving average of $5,198.14.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $41.90 earnings per share. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities 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 Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,476.89, for a total transaction of $5,548,089.57. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,841,031.80. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,052 shares of company stock worth $22,511,858 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,808.81.

About Booking

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.