Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 99.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 24,533,744 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.62% of Booking worth $1,167,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.0% in the 1st 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 854,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,936,132,000 after purchasing an additional 9,333 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Booking by 0.5% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Booking by 6.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 18,268 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 9.5% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 226,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,297,331,000 after buying an additional 19,578 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,570,000. This represents a 11.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,030.00, for a total value of $75,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,606,510. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,452 shares of company stock valued at $17,987,397 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Booking from $5,640.00 to $6,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $5,750.00 price target (up from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $6,000.00 price objective (up from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,139.21.

Booking Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,583.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.34. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $4,096.23 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5,196.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $5,401.69.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The company had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $83.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Booking has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Booking Company 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.