Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Trust Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Trust Asset Management raised its Booking Holdings stake by 2,340.9% to 8,958 shares worth $1.6 million. Hedge funds and other institutions collectively own 92.42% of the company.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: Booking reported adjusted EPS of $2.54 versus the $2.43 consensus and revenue of $7.35 billion, up 8.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $234.98.
• Insiders sold shares while the company announced a dividend: Insiders sold 68,625 shares worth $11.45 million over the past 90 days. Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% annualized yield.

Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2,340.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,958 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,591 shares during the quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $1,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $51,396,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,352,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Booking by 862.0% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,167,890,000 after buying an additional 195,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 64,908 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $347,604,000 after buying an additional 11,042 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 68,625 shares of company stock worth $11,445,375 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $207.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $160.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.73 and a 200-day moving average of $176.76.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 120.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.43 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BKNG. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.98.

Trending Headlines about Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations: Adjusted earnings per share were $2.54 versus the $2.43–$2.45 consensus, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion, ahead of the $7.19 billion estimate. Room nights, gross bookings and EBITDA also surpassed expectations. Booking Holdings Q2 results top estimates as travel demand remains resilient
• Positive Sentiment: Travel demand remains resilient: Strong domestic and regional travel supported growth across the platform, helping ease concerns about weaker long-haul international demand and Middle East-related disruption. Investors viewed the performance as evidence that Booking’s business remains durable. Booking Holdings Stock Surges on Better-Than-Expected Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets: UBS increased its target to $274 and initiated a Buy rating; Benchmark raised its target to $250 and also rated the stock Buy; Wedbush lifted its target to $247 with an Outperform rating. BTIG reaffirmed Buy with a $250 target. These revisions reinforce the post-earnings bullish sentiment. Analyst target updates
• Positive Sentiment: AI and efficiency initiatives add longer-term potential: Management highlighted early benefits from AI-powered personalization, connected-trip development and higher savings, while Booking’s transaction infrastructure remains difficult for generative AI competitors to replicate. BKNG Q2 Earnings Call Centers on Resilience, AI and Savings
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target from $175 to $220 but maintained a Neutral rating, indicating more limited upside after the rally. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst update
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term risks remain: Booking guided third-quarter revenue to $9.4–$9.5 billion, below the roughly $9.7 billion consensus estimate. Management also cited Middle East-related volatility, while marketing expenses growing faster than revenue could pressure customer-acquisition costs and margins. Booking Holdings: The Buy Thesis Survives Q2

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company's businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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