Magellan Asset Management Ltd Has $49.19 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Magellan Asset Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 29.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,480 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $49,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 400.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in Booking by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,940.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5,311.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,401.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a PEG 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.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $83.39 EPS. The business’s 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. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $6,150.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Booking from $5,443.00 to $5,523.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6,121.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $722,045.80. This trade represents a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,729.36. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,197 shares of company stock worth $17,260,963. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.