Flossbach Von Storch AG Grows Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings in Booking were worth $29,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Booking by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,982,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,669,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $131,000. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 460 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 684.3% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,051 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,823,000 after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 16th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded down $23.86 on Wednesday, reaching $3,443.91. The company had a trading volume of 170,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,648. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3,586.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,364.25. The firm has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.19, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,456.93 and a 52-week high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The business’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $24.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.67%.

Booking Profile

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.