Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stake Decreased by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in Booking Holdings by 15.3%, selling 155,790 shares and now holds approximately 2.66% of the company, valued at around $3.98 billion.
• Booking reported a quarterly earnings per share of $55.40, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 16.0% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $6.80 billion.
• The company announced a dividend of $9.60 per share, payable on September 30, with a dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 864,960 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 155,790 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 2.66% of Booking worth $3,984,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 27.3% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $15,054,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 9.4% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 13.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 513 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,363,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $6,700.00 price target (up previously from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,781.04.

Booking Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ BKNG traded up $10.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5,720.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 195,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 209,657. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,577.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5,155.63. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,700.97 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market cap of $185.41 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $41.90 earnings per share. Booking's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,052 shares of company stock worth $22,511,858 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.