Groupe la Francaise Grows Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 39.0% in Q1, owning 9,180 shares valued at approximately $43.56 million.
• Booking reported earnings of $55.40 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $6.80 billion, up 16.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 5th, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7%.

Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 39.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,180 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,578 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for about 0.9% of Groupe la Francaise's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Booking were worth $43,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $10,887,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,362,892 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 1,411.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 112,201 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $516,900,000 after acquiring an additional 104,780 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Booking by 182.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 67,562 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Booking by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,831,499,000 after acquiring an additional 58,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 127.3% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 81,785 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $406,342,000 after acquiring an additional 45,808 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,720.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,700.97 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The stock's fifty day moving average is $5,577.51 and its 200-day moving average is $5,152.49.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.The business 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 posted $41.90 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,841,031.80. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,052 shares of company stock worth $22,511,858 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $5,750.00 price target (up from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America increased their target price 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, Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,781.04.

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.

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