IFM Investors Pty Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 1.0%, owning 6,759 shares valued at approximately $31.1 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Booking, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which boosted its position by over 521,609.7%.
• Booking's recent earnings report revealed a 16.0% revenue increase year-over-year and an EPS of $55.40, exceeding analysts' expectations.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,759 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Booking were worth $31,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Booking by 300.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 8 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $6,700.00 price target (up from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $6,250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $6,200.00 price objective (up from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,808.81.

Booking Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $39.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $5,458.32. 128,764 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 172,971. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,594.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5,215.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.90 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,894.51 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $41.90 earnings per share. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,587.11, for a total transaction of $357,575.04. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's 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 sale, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 4,116 shares of company stock worth $22,869,434. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.