Quantitative Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 27.7%, selling 300 shares and leaving it with 784 shares valued at $3.61 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and GAMMA Investing LLC, have increased their holdings in Booking during the first quarter, reflecting significant institutional interest.
• Booking recently announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60, which will be paid on September 30th, representing an annual yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 27.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 784 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $3,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 25.8% in the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 745 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,432,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 3.8% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 468 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in Booking by 1.6% in the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise lifted its holdings in Booking by 39.0% in the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 9,180 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,578 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 36.3% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 368 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,841,031.80. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,052 shares of company stock valued at $22,511,858. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $36.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5,615.47. The stock had a trading volume of 39,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 244,689. The firm's 50 day moving average is $5,606.20 and its 200 day moving average is $5,175.91. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,700.97 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.00, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $41.90 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $5,750.00 target price (up from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,781.04.

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.