Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Lowers Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 9.9% in Q2, owning 767 shares valued at approximately $4.44 million after selling 84 shares.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard and Deutsche Bank, increased their stakes in Booking during the first quarter, collectively demonstrating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Booking recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $55.40 for Q2, surpassing estimates and showing a 16% revenue increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 9.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 767 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Booking were worth $4,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Booking from $5,750.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $6,250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,808.81.

Insider Activity

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

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,280.14 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $5,484.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5,329.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $4,096.23 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.35.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $41.90 earnings per share. Booking'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. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

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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