Acadian Asset Management LLC Purchases 13,478 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 13.5%, owning approximately $522.85 million worth of shares, making it the 12th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Booking's recent quarterly earnings report showed $55.40 EPS, surpassing expectations by $5.08, with revenue reaching $6.80 billion, a 16% increase compared to the previous year.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded their price targets for Booking, with B. Riley setting a target of $6,700, while the average consensus price target is $5,808.81.

Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,500 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,478 shares during the period. Booking accounts for about 1.5% of Acadian Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Booking worth $522,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,956,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,620,154,000 after buying an additional 30,054 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 521,609.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,887,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362,892 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 370,327 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,706,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Booking by 6.6% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 296,331 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,365,170,000 after purchasing an additional 18,268 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 3.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,200 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,023,655,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,587.11, for a total value of $357,575.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,486.45. This trade represents a 24.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,116 shares of company stock worth $22,869,434. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $39.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5,458.32. The company had a trading volume of 128,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,971. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,894.51 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $5,594.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5,214.50. The firm has a market cap of $176.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.39.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $41.90 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $6,200.00 target price (up previously from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $5,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,808.81.

Booking Company 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.