Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Pallas Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 12.9%, selling 67 shares and lowering its holdings to 452 shares, valued at approximately $2,617,000.
• Several brokerages have reaffirmed their buy ratings on Booking, with B. Riley setting a new target price of $6,700.00, while twelve analysts have rated the stock with a consensus of Moderate Buy.
• Booking 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%.

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 452 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 67 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $2,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 300.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 8 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the first quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5,444.44. 420,445 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 175,646. The company has a market capitalization of $176.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,985.57 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $5,570.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,235.05.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research reports. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $6,700.00 price target (up from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $5,750.00 price objective (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" 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 issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,808.81.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,587.11, for a total value of $357,575.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 195 shares in the company, valued at $1,089,486.45. This represents a 24.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.