Callahan Advisors LLC Has $25.78 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Callahan Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Booking comprises approximately 2.3% of Callahan Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Callahan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $25,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,956,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,620,154,000 after acquiring an additional 30,054 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 370,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,706,063,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Booking by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 296,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,365,170,000 after buying an additional 18,268 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,023,655,000 after buying an additional 8,015 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 218,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,262,147,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,080.86 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5,475.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5,327.37. The stock has a market cap of $164.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.34, a PEG ratio of 1.64 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $41.90 EPS. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total transaction of $5,588,639.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,237,930.44. This represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total transaction of $352,755.20. Following the sale, the director owned 131 shares in the company, valued at $722,045.80. This represents a 32.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have 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

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $6,000.00 target price (up previously from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $6,250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.