Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 11.8%, owning approximately 0.48% of the company’s stock valued at around $724.6 million.
• Booking reported a quarterly EPS of $55.40, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenues of $6.80 billion, marking a 16% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with the dividend yield currently at 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 11.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,294 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,565 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.48% of Booking worth $724,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Booking Price Performance

BKNG traded up $2.91 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $5,585.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 217,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 244,809. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,700.97 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market cap of $181.04 billion, a PE ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.39. The business's 50-day moving average is $5,619.83 and its 200-day moving average is $5,191.90.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $41.90 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect 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 is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 24,620 shares in the company, valued at $134,841,031.80. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 4,052 shares of company stock worth $22,511,858 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $6,700.00 price target (up from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,808.81.

Booking 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.