Commerce Bank Invests $65.27 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Commerce Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 366,169 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $65,266,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the second quarter valued at about $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth about $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth about $1,370,455,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,055,006,000 after acquiring an additional 23,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $236.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $210.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $209.62 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $188.60 and a 200 day moving average of $177.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $55.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company's businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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