CenterStar Asset Management LLC Takes $1.76 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• CenterStar Asset Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc., investing approximately $1.76 million to become the fifth largest position in their investment portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Pacer Advisors and AQR Capital Management, significantly increased their investments in Booking during the first quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Booking recently declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with a current dividend yield of 0.7%, reflecting a payout ratio of 26.71%.

CenterStar Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 303 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,755,000. Booking makes up approximately 0.4% of CenterStar Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

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

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total value of $82,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 747 shares in the company, valued at $4,108,500. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,195 shares of company stock worth $23,467,630. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,424.55 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $4,060.98 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $5,529.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5,290.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's payout ratio is 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,807.89.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.