Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $14,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. B. Riley cut their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Booking in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $3,590.00 price target on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,042.43 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,733.04 and a 1-year high of $4,144.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,768.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,716.69.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Booking Company 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.