AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Acquires 1,615 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Booking were worth $21,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1,411.9% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 112,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $516,900,000 after acquiring an additional 104,780 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 79.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 154,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $695,259,000 after acquiring an additional 68,243 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Booking by 182.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 104,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $482,081,000 after acquiring an additional 67,562 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 181,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $836,223,000 after acquiring an additional 39,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 213,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $983,707,000 after acquiring an additional 35,171 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,280.14 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5,484.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $5,329.08. The company has a market cap of $171.13 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.35. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $4,096.23 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $41.90 EPS. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 price objective (up from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,808.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,045.80. This trade represents a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,500.00, for a total transaction of $82,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,108,500. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,169 shares of company stock valued at $11,929,560. 0.16% of the stock is owned by 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.