Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) by 38.3% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 721 shares to reach a total value of $15,069,000.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for BKNG, with Citigroup and DA Davidson now both setting targets at $6,500.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating on the stock.
• Booking recently announced a $9.60 quarterly dividend, representing a 0.7% dividend yield, with an annualized dividend payout of $38.40.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 38.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,603 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Booking were worth $15,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Booking by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 513 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,363,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 57.9% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 221 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 13.1% in the first quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total value of $79,379.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,729.36. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,197 shares of company stock worth $17,260,963 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,418.00 to $5,443.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $5,750.00 target price (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,994.00.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,230.59 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $4,096.23 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $5,446.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $5,347.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $41.90 earnings per share. Booking'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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

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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