J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Decreases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG has decreased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 0.6%, owning 14,892 shares valued at approximately $86.2 million.
• Several analysts have recently increased their price targets for Booking, with Barclays raising it to $6,000 and Citigroup to $6,500, indicating a positive outlook for the company.
• Booking Holdings reported Q2 earnings of $55.40 EPS, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,892 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises approximately 1.5% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Booking were worth $86,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the first quarter worth $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth $32,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in shares of Booking by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $6,000.00 price target (up from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $5,975.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,807.89.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $5,350.56 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $4,060.98 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5,533.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $5,285.05. The firm has a market cap of $173.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.35.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $41.90 EPS. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. 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 is currently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total transaction of $352,755.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $722,045.80. This trade represents a 32.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total transaction of $5,588,639.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,607 shares in the company, valued at $130,237,930.44. This trade represents a 4.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,195 shares of company stock worth $23,467,630. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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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