Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Purchases New Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 6,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% during the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $208.20 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $185.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.06. The company has a market cap of $156.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

About Booking

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.