Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 14.1%, holding 1,191 shares valued at approximately $6.9 million as of the end of the second quarter.
• Booking reported earnings of $55.40 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $5.08, with a revenue increase of 16.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 14.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,191 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Booking were worth $6,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $5,280.14 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $5,484.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,329.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $4,096.23 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The company has a market capitalization of $171.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued 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 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total transaction of $352,755.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $722,045.80. This represents a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total transaction of $82,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 747 shares in the company, valued at $4,108,500. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,169 shares of company stock valued at $11,929,560 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,418.00 to $5,443.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $6,700.00 price target (up previously from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,808.81.

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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