Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Buys 23,687 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 76.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,864 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,687 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.17% of Booking worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Auxano Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 57 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth $1,158,000. Rovida Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter worth $14,447,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in Booking by 6.8% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 27,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $159,818,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the period. Finally, Saturna Capital Corp purchased a new position in Booking during the second quarter valued at $226,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 4.0%

BKNG stock opened at $4,768.00 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5,182.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5,401.84. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $4,096.23 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.69 billion, a PE ratio of 30.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.34.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. The business had revenue of $9.01 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $83.39 EPS. Booking has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,570,000. This represents a 11.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,800,000. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,452 shares of company stock worth $17,987,397 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial set a $5,810.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Global Securities lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Booking from $6,200.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $6,000.00 price target (up previously from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,139.21.

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.