Avanza Fonder AB Trims Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Avanza Fonder AB has reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 7.1%, now holding 2,226 shares valued at approximately $12.89 million.
• Booking's latest quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $55.40 earnings per share, significantly above the analysts' forecast of $50.32.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, which will be paid out on September 30th, with an annual yield of 0.7%.

Avanza Fonder AB cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,226 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 171 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Booking were worth $12,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Matrix Trust Co grew its position in shares of Booking by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth $220,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in Booking by 100.0% in the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Booking by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,057,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total value of $82,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,108,500. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total transaction of $352,755.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $722,045.80. This represents a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $6,700.00 price target (up from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $6,000.00 target price (up previously from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,808.81.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG traded up $18.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $5,475.90. 95,933 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 241,832. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5,564.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5,244.30. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $4,060.98 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market cap of $177.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.39.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $41.90 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given 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 is Friday, September 5th. Booking's payout ratio is 26.71%.

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.