Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Boosts Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 1.7%, owning 10,136 shares valued at approximately $58.68 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Booking reported better-than-expected earnings of $55.40 per share for Q2, exceeding estimates by $5.08, with a revenue of $6.80 billion surpassing analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60, set to be paid on September 30th, with an annualized yield of 0.7% and a dividend payout ratio of 26.71%.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,136 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in Booking were worth $58,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.2% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 1.6% during 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. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% during 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. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 238 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $5,548.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4,060.98 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The stock's fifty day moving average is $5,553.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5,270.06.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.Booking's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $41.90 earnings per share. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $6,200.00 price objective (up previously from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,808.81.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total transaction of $82,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 747 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,108,500. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,045.80. The trade was a 32.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630 over the last quarter. 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.

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