First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 260 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• First Manhattan CO. LLC. has reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 21.3%, now holding 963 shares valued at approximately $4.4 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently changed their positions in BKNG, with 92.42% of the stock now owned by institutional investors, indicating significant interest in the company.
• Booking's recent quarterly earnings beat analysts' expectations, reporting $55.40 EPS and $6.80 billion in revenue, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 21.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 963 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in Booking were worth $4,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elequin Capital LP increased its position in shares of Booking by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 12 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 1.2% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.7% during the first quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.6% in the first quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 125 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the first quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $5,750.00 price objective (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,808.81.

Booking Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $80.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5,505.80. 202,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 166,659. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5,615.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $5,198.14. The stock has a market cap of $178.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.29, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,700.97 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $41.90 EPS. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid 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 yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 24,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 4,052 shares of company stock worth $22,511,858 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.