Yacktman Asset Management LP Trims Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Yacktman Asset Management LP cut its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,115 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 27 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in Booking were worth $6,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Booking by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,958,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 75,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $437,284,000 after buying an additional 11,829 shares during the last quarter. Covey Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Covey Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,467,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Booking by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,262,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,090,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,911.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $158.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.92, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.34. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $4,096.23 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5,339.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,401.89.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $83.39 EPS. Booking has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,723.00 to $6,790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $6,250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,750.00 price target (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $6,000.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,121.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total value of $79,379.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 732 shares in the company, valued at $3,873,729.36. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $722,045.80. This represents a 32.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,197 shares of company stock worth $17,260,963 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.