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

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 80.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Booking were worth $21,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in Booking by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,280.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5,484.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5,329.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $4,096.23 and a twelve month 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $41.90 EPS. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,045.80. This represents a 32.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total transaction of $5,588,639.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,169 shares of company stock worth $11,929,560. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6,700.00 price target (up previously from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,808.81.

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.