Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 456 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings by 87.5%, selling 456 shares and retaining just 65 shares worth $376,000.
• Booking Holdings recently announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60, with a payout ratio of 26.71% and an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%.
• The company reported earnings of $55.40 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $6.80 billion, a 16% increase from the previous year.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 87.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 456 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,956,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,620,154,000 after acquiring an additional 30,054 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 370,327 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,706,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Booking by 6.6% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 296,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,365,170,000 after acquiring an additional 18,268 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 3.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,200 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,023,655,000 after acquiring an additional 8,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Booking by 1.1% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 218,016 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,262,147,000 after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,080.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5,475.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $5,327.37. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $4,096.23 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $41.90 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking's payout ratio is 26.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $6,700.00 target price (up previously from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $5,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,808.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total value of $82,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 747 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,108,500. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total transaction of $5,588,639.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,237,930.44. This trade represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,169 shares of company stock valued at $11,929,560 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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