Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Takes $1.21 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought 6,760 Booking Holdings shares during the second quarter, establishing a position worth approximately $1.21 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.42% of BKNG.
• Booking reported quarterly earnings of $2.54 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.11, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion. Shares recently traded at $208.20, below the 52-week high of $231.80.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Booking carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.72. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,760 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Booking by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in Booking by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 53 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $208.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $156.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $185.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.06. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $231.80.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were 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 $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. The trade was a 23.81% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore set a $245.00 price target on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upped their price target on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.72.

Booking 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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