Rathbones Group PLC Buys 11,042 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its Booking Holdings stake by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 11,042 shares and lifting its holdings to 64,908 shares worth about $347.6 million.
• Booking reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $1.14 topping estimates and revenue of $5.53 billion slightly ahead of forecasts, while revenue rose 16.2% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautiously positive: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus on BKNG, with a target price of about $227.14, even as the stock trades well below its 52-week high.

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,908 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,042 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 1.4% of Rathbones Group PLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.20% of Booking worth $347,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Booking by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Booking by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Booking by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 87 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $179,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s KAYAK, Agoda, and Priceline brands are highlighting stronger summer travel demand and a value-focused consumer backdrop, with campaigns aimed at price-sensitive travelers and more flexible, lower-cost destinations. Booking Holdings Tests Value Focus As Summer 2026 Travel Campaigns Ramp Up
• Positive Sentiment: KAYAK’s Summer 2026 Travel Report said travelers are still finding value despite airfare volatility, with nearly half of top U.S. searched destinations under $500, reinforcing the idea that travel demand remains resilient. Take the Trip: KAYAK Summer Travel Report Highlights Smart Ways to Save on Summer Travel
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking’s presentation at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference may provide updated commentary on demand, pricing, and growth strategy, but no concrete new financial guidance was included in the headline. Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) Presents at J.P. Morgan 54th Annual Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles discussing Booking’s earlier 25-for-1 stock split and broader market interest in splits are drawing attention to the shares, but this is mostly a sentiment/technical factor rather than a new business driver. Will Goldman Sachs, Markel, or SanDisk Be the Next Big Stock Split?
• Negative Sentiment: Travel-stock coverage also reflects investor caution around the sector after recent volatility and questions about how much Google-related changes could affect online travel traffic, which can weigh on sentiment for Booking and peers. Online travel stocks are on watch during Google I/O

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BKNG. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $272.00 to $264.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $240.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $234.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.14.

Booking Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $156.95 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $121.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.10. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $233.58. The company's 50 day moving average is $171.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.18.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. Booking's revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Booking's payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,269,532.64. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 34,576 shares of company stock worth $6,187,746 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company's businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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