denkapparat Operations GmbH Makes New $735,000 Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 148 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $735,000. Booking accounts for 1.1% of denkapparat Operations GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 2.2% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Booking by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its position in Booking by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 price target (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,752.80 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,784.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4,721.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

About Booking

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.