Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Cooper Financial Group

Key Points

• Cooper Financial Group decreased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 30.1% during Q2, now holding 209 shares valued at $1,211,000.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their investments in Booking, with Pacer Advisors boosting its stake by 1,411.9% in Q1, acquiring over 104,000 additional shares.
• Booking's CEO sold 1,013 shares for around $5.6 million, reducing his ownership by 4.11%, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60.

Cooper Financial Group reduced its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 209 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group's holdings in Booking were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 1,411.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 112,201 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $516,900,000 after purchasing an additional 104,780 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 79.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 154,206 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $695,259,000 after purchasing an additional 68,243 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 182.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 104,643 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $482,081,000 after purchasing an additional 67,562 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 181,515 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $836,223,000 after purchasing an additional 39,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 213,529 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $983,707,000 after purchasing an additional 35,171 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $6,700.00 price objective (up from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $5,975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $6,000.00 price objective (up from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,807.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total transaction of $5,588,639.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 23,607 shares in the company, valued at $130,237,930.44. This trade represents a 4.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $82,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 747 shares in the company, valued at $4,108,500. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,195 shares of company stock worth $23,467,630 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,399.27 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $4,060.98 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The company's 50 day moving average price is $5,541.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $5,284.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.39.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 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 firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $41.90 earnings per share. Booking'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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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