Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys 1,151 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 118.9% in the first quarter, bringing their total position to $9.77 million with 2,119 shares owned.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Booking, with UBS Group increasing it from $5,750 to $6,300, and the company currently holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.
• Booking recently declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60, which represents a 0.7% dividend yield and will be paid to stockholders on September 30th.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 118.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,119 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $9,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Booking by 521,609.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 1,411.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 112,201 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $516,900,000 after acquiring an additional 104,780 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Booking by 182.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 104,643 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $482,081,000 after acquiring an additional 67,562 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Booking by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,831,499,000 after acquiring an additional 58,357 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 127.3% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 81,785 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $406,342,000 after acquiring an additional 45,808 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $6,000.00 price target (up previously from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,781.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the 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 transaction of $5,548,089.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 24,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 4,052 shares of company stock worth $22,511,858 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Up 0.0%

BKNG stock traded up $1.2550 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $5,641.0350. 54,069 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,993. The company has a market cap of $182.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $5,564.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $5,138.28. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,700.97 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $41.90 EPS. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Booking Company 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.