Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Acquired by NatWest Group plc

Key Points

• NatWest Group plc increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 2.3%, now owning 2,178 shares worth approximately $10 million, making it the 17th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Booking reported strong quarterly earnings with $55.40 EPS, surpassing estimates and achieving revenue of $6.80 billion, a 16% year-over-year increase.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with a payout ratio of 26.71%, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

NatWest Group plc lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,178 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 3.0% of NatWest Group plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. NatWest Group plc's holdings in Booking were worth $10,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Elequin Capital LP boosted its holdings in Booking by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 12 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.2% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 3.7% in the first quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.6% in the first quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 125 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the first quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Down 1.4%

Booking stock traded down $80.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5,505.80. The stock had a trading volume of 202,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,337. The stock has a market cap of $178.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,700.97 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5,615.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $5,200.02.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.Booking's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $41.90 earnings per share. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,808.81.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company'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 transaction of $5,548,089.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 4,052 shares of company stock worth $22,511,858 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Booking

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.