Flossbach Von Storch SE Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 259,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,169,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at $19,631,000. Act Two Investors LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $628,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth about $73,645,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at about $980,000. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the second quarter valued at about $8,040,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BKNG. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC lowered their price target on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays set a $210.00 price target on Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Booking Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Booking stock opened at $213.00 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly 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 company 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 business posted $55.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Booking

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Booking’s KAYAK brand reported that international airfares for U.K. travelers in September and October are averaging 26% below peak-season levels. Cheaper “shoulder-season” travel could encourage additional bookings and support demand across Booking’s accommodation and travel platforms. KAYAK shoulder-season travel research
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive. Booking’s latest quarterly revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $7.35 billion and earnings exceeded analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a broadly favorable view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $235.72, above recent trading levels. Booking growth-stock analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Booking declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually, representing an approximately 0.8% yield. The payout signals ongoing shareholder returns but is modest and is unlikely to materially affect the stock’s near-term direction.
• Negative Sentiment: Booking Vice President Peter Millones sold 50,050 shares worth approximately $10.4 million, reducing his position by 11.77%. Director Vanessa Ames Wittman separately sold 375 shares for about $79,000. Both transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as bearish signals; Millones still retains roughly $77.9 million in BKNG stock. Booking insider share sales

Booking Profile

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.