Kera Capital Partners Inc. Buys 91 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 29.1%, owning 404 shares valued at approximately $2.34 million after acquiring 91 additional shares in the second quarter.
• CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock worth over $5.5 million, reducing his ownership by 3.95% to 24,620 shares, while other insiders have also reported significant stock sales.
• Booking recently announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, to be paid on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 29.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 404 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $2,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Booking by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,956,462 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,620,154,000 after buying an additional 30,054 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Booking by 521,609.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,887,718,000 after buying an additional 2,362,892 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Booking by 0.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 370,327 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,706,063,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 18,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,808.81.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the 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 transaction of $5,548,089.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares in the company, valued at $134,841,031.80. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total transaction of $82,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 747 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,108,500. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,195 shares of company stock worth $23,467,630 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $121.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $5,432.30. 103,471 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 241,086. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,985.57 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $5,581.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5,225.67. The company has a market cap of $176.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis 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.