DnB Asset Management AS Acquires 27,969 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS significantly increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 469.6%, acquiring 33,925 shares valued at approximately $156 million, making it the company's 29th largest holding.
• Booking recently announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, reflecting a 0.7% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 26.71%.
• For Q2 2025, Booking reported earnings per share of $55.40, surpassing estimates, while its revenue of $6.80 billion exceeded expectations by $260 million.

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 469.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,925 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,969 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for about 0.7% of DnB Asset Management AS's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. DnB Asset Management AS owned about 0.10% of Booking worth $156,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued 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, nineteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,808.81.

Booking Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $63.90 during trading on Monday, reaching $5,569.70. 211,683 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 244,382. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,718.58 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41. The business's fifty day moving average is $5,615.88 and its 200-day moving average is $5,200.02.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $41.90 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue 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 predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking 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 value of $5,548,089.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,052 shares of company stock valued at $22,511,858. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

About Booking

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.