Deutsche Bank AG Purchases New Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,488,249 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,186,000. Booking accounts for about 0.5% of Deutsche Bank AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,370,455,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $472,723,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Booking by 1,497.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Booking by 66,209.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 659,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,600,000 after acquiring an additional 658,788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Booking Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of BKNG opened at $204.76 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The stock has a market cap of $153.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $184.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.85.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 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 related news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.