Highland Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by purchasing 532 shares valued at approximately $3,080,000 during the second quarter.
• Booking Holdings reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $55.40 for the latest quarter, beating estimates and marking a 16.0% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $38.40 and a dividend yield of 0.7%.

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 532 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,080,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 42.0% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 4,146 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $24,002,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 514 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,974,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 266 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,540,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Hapoalim BM increased its stake in shares of Booking by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 76 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $5,418.05 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $5,524.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5,302.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $4,096.23 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The company has a market capitalization of $175.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.35.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $41.90 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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 $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $6,200.00 target price (up from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,807.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total value of $5,588,639.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 23,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,237,930.44. This trade represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,108,500. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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