HS Management Partners LLC Has $60.54 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• HS Management Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 22.8%, now holding a total of $60.54 million worth of shares.
• Several hedge funds have incrementally increased their positions in Booking, with 92.42% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, representing a yield of 0.7%, with an ex-dividend date of September 5th.

HS Management Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 22.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,458 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,094 shares during the period. Booking accounts for about 4.9% of HS Management Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. HS Management Partners LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $60,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted 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 valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 3.7% in the 1st 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 period. Gries Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.6% in the 1st 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 period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Booking by 0.8% in the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 238 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,070,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $6,200.00 price target (up from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price objective on Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,808.81.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,476.89, for a total value of $5,548,089.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,620 shares in the company, valued at $134,841,031.80. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,195 shares of company stock worth $23,467,630. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,548.00 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5,553.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5,264.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $4,060.98 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $41.90 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Booking 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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