Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Purchases 15,220 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 64.1% in Q1, acquiring an additional 15,220 shares, bringing its total ownership to 38,965 shares.
• Booking Holdings reported earnings of $24.81 per share for the last quarter, significantly beating analyst expectations of $17.57, and had a revenue of $4.76 billion.
• Booking announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.68% and a payout ratio of 23.89%.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 64.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,965 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,220 shares during the period. Booking comprises approximately 0.9% of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned 0.12% of Booking worth $179,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $5,700.00 price target (up from $5,600.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,454.26.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded down $17.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5,632.27. The stock had a trading volume of 184,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,500. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,839.41. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $5,546.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,049.91.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.58% and a negative return on equity of 143.67%. Booking's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $20.39 EPS. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Booking's payout ratio is presently 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.