Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc

Key Points

• Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 14.3%, selling 130 shares, leaving its total holdings at 776 shares valued at approximately $4.49 million.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for Booking, with JPMorgan raising it to $6,000 and UBS to $6,300, while the consensus target price is now set at $5,808.81.
• Booking Holdings declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 14.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 776 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in Booking were worth $4,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the first 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 grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,362,892 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 18,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 3.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,200 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,023,655,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5,444.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 420,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,646. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,985.57 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $5,570.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5,232.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.39.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $41.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $9.60 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $6,250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $6,000.00 price target (up from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,808.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,108,500. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630. 0.16% of the stock is owned by 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.