Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stake Raised by Point72 Italy S.r.l.

Key Points

• Point72 Italy S.r.l. increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 280.0% in the first quarter, making it the firm's 3rd largest position in their investment portfolio, worth approximately $8.75 million.
• Booking Holdings achieved earnings of $55.40 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by $5.08, with revenues reaching $6.80 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60 to be paid on September 30, with a yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Point72 Italy S.r.l. raised its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 280.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,900 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises 8.6% of Point72 Italy S.r.l.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Point72 Italy S.r.l.'s holdings in Booking were worth $8,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Booking by 300.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 8 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,781.04.

Booking Stock Up 1.4%

Booking stock traded up $77.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $5,582.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 189,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 165,104. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,617.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5,189.19. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,700.97 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The company has a market cap of $180.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 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 negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $41.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current 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 issued 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,052 shares of company stock valued at $22,511,858. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.