Deutsche Bank AG Acquires 9,732 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Booking Holdings by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,732 additional shares and bringing its total to 293,553 shares valued at about $1.57 billion.
• Booking reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.14 beating estimates and revenue of $5.53 billion slightly topping forecasts; revenue also rose 16.2% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable June 30, while analysts remain generally positive with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $227.14.

Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,553 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,732 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises about 0.5% of Deutsche Bank AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.91% of Booking worth $1,572,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $163.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.08. The company's fifty day moving average is $169.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.67. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $188.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 target price on shares of Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $259.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.14.

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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