Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 95.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 75,195 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,486,469 shares during the period. Booking comprises about 0.6% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $434,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Country Trust Bank lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 8,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,313,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 10.4% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,293,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in Booking by 16.4% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 101,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $584,063,000 after buying an additional 14,204 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 2.3% in the second quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 352 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,038,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.7% in the second quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,906.24 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $4,096.23 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5,157.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,398.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,030.00, for a total transaction of $75,450.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,606,510. This represents a 2.05% 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, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 400 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,007.69, for a total transaction of $2,003,076.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,922,265.19. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,452 shares of company stock worth $17,987,397 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. Seaport Global Securities increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Booking from $6,723.00 to $6,790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Booking in a research note on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $6,100.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6,141.52.

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.