Danske Bank A S Purchases Shares of 413,181 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 413,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $73,645,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Booking by 3,550.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Up 1.7%

BKNG stock opened at $208.20 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $231.80. The firm has a market cap of $156.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $185.74 and a 200 day moving average of $177.06.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial set a $242.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore set a $245.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.