Guggenheim Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its holdings of Booking Holdings Inc. by 8.2% in Q1, now owning 14,240 shares valued at approximately $65.6 million.
• Booking reported $55.40 earnings per share for Q2, exceeding estimates, with revenue reaching $6.80 billion, a 16% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.7%, with the payment date set for September 30th.

Guggenheim Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,240 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,280 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises approximately 0.6% of Guggenheim Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $65,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Mechanics Financial Corp acquired a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the 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 transaction of $5,548,089.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares in the company, valued at $134,841,031.80. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,052 shares of company stock worth $22,511,858. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Three 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,781.04.

Booking Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $52.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5,599.05. 138,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 179,989. The firm has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,700.97 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,612.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5,181.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $41.90 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 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.