Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 39.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,683 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 755 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Booking were worth $12,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Booking by 521,609.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,887,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362,892 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 803,125 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,986,244,000 after purchasing an additional 6,009 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,958,352,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Booking by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,831,499,000 after purchasing an additional 58,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in Booking by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 285,064 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,416,318,000 after purchasing an additional 3,926 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,692.00 to $5,411.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $5,700.00 price target (up from $5,600.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,453.15.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.3%

BKNG stock traded up $18.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5,702.90. 147,053 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 247,877. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.48, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5,489.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5,016.25. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a net margin of 22.58% and a negative return on equity of 143.67%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $20.39 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Booking's payout ratio is 23.89%.

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.