Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 512 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 2.5%, owning 20,812 shares valued at approximately $95.9 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Several large investors boosted their holdings, with TD Asset Management Inc. notably increasing its stake by 182.2%, now owning 104,643 shares worth around $482 million.
• Booking's quarterly earnings were strong, reporting earnings per share of $24.81, significantly surpassing expectations and showing a 7.9% year-over-year revenue increase.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,812 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.06% of Booking worth $95,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Booking by 9.5% during the first quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 368 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.4% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,878,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Booking by 182.2% in 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 buying an additional 67,562 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 43.5% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,254 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,779,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Booking by 64.1% in the first quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 38,965 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $179,706,000 after buying an additional 15,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Booking from $5,800.00 to $5,650.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,718.07.

Booking Stock Up 0.2%

Booking stock traded up $12.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $5,603.66. 209,622 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,695. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,839.41. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $5,558.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5,061.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.95, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $41.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at $151,674,935. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.