Ninety One UK Ltd Increases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd has increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 1.1%, now owning 218,016 shares worth approximately $1.26 billion, making it the company’s 7th largest position.
• CEO Glenn D. Fogel recently sold 1,013 shares, reducing his ownership by 3.95%, while insider selling over the last ninety days totaled $23.47 million.
• Booking Holdings has announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 218,016 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 3.0% of Ninety One UK Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.67% of Booking worth $1,262,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth $35,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in Booking by 100.0% in the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's 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 value of $5,548,089.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,620 shares in the company, valued at $134,841,031.80. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,587.11, for a total value of $357,575.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 195 shares in the company, valued at $1,089,486.45. This trade represents a 24.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Down 1.0%

BKNG stock opened at $5,399.27 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $4,060.98 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market cap of $174.99 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5,541.46 and a 200 day moving average of $5,284.60.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $41.90 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $6,250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $5,750.00 target price (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,807.89.

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.

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