J. Stern & Co. LLP Buys 127 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. by 20.3% in the first quarter, now owning shares valued at approximately $3.47 million.
• Insider CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company stock for about $5.54 million, reducing his ownership by 3.95%.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $55.40 EPS and $6.80 billion in revenue, a 16.0% increase compared to the same period last year.

J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 754 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 127 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 0.3% of J. Stern & Co. LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. J. Stern & Co. LLP's holdings in Booking were worth $3,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,956,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,620,154,000 after buying an additional 30,054 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 521,609.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,887,718,000 after buying an additional 2,362,892 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Booking by 0.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 370,327 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,706,063,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Booking by 6.6% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 296,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,365,170,000 after buying an additional 18,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,200 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,023,655,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,781.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,052 shares of company stock worth $22,511,858. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of BKNG traded down $52.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5,599.05. The stock had a trading volume of 138,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,311. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,700.97 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The company has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.41. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $5,606.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5,175.91.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.