LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Has $10.95 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 32.7% to approximately $10.95 million, now holding about 1.0% of the company's shares as its 23rd largest position.
• Analysts have increased target prices for Booking, with Citigroup raising it from $5,560 to $6,500 and Morgan Stanley setting it at $5,650, reflecting strong confidence in the company's performance.
• Booking Holdings recently announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 26.71%.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 32.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,891 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 918 shares during the period. Booking accounts for about 1.0% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Booking were worth $10,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,807.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total transaction of $352,755.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $722,045.80. This trade represents a 32.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 23,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 4,195 shares of company stock worth $23,467,630 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Trading Down 0.1%

BKNG opened at $5,418.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $175.60 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.35. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $4,096.23 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $5,524.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,297.52.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during 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%.Booking's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $41.90 EPS. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $9.60 dividend. 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 presently 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.

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