Birinyi Associates Inc. Has $11.49 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Birinyi Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 15.4%, owning 1,985 shares worth approximately $11.49 million after the sale.
• Booking reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $55.40, exceeding analysts' consensus estimate of $50.32, with revenue increasing by 16.0% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% and a dividend payout ratio of 26.71%.

Birinyi Associates Inc. lowered its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,985 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 362 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 3.4% of Birinyi Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Birinyi Associates Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $11,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth $29,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the first quarter worth $32,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in Booking by 100.0% in the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,242.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $169.89 billion, a PE ratio of 36.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5,512.80 and a 200 day moving average of $5,312.53. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $4,096.23 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $41.90 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $6,700.00 target price (up previously from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Booking in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $5,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,808.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $5,548,089.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total value of $82,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 747 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,108,500. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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