KBC Group NV Increases Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.08% of Booking worth $143,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,050.65 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5,289.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5,414.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.34. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $4,096.23 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released 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. The business had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.86% and a net margin of 19.37%.The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $83.39 EPS. Booking has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6,250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Seaport Global Securities lifted their price objective on Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Booking from $5,443.00 to $5,523.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,121.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total value of $5,588,639.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,237,930.44. This trade represents a 4.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $722,045.80. The trade was a 32.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,437 shares of company stock worth $18,460,963. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.