Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 1,815 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,815 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $42,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Booking by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Down 0.5 %

BKNG stock opened at $4,673.38 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,872.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4,662.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

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.