Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 1,043 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 14.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $43,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 5 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in shares of Booking by 100.0% during the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,492.11 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $4,096.23 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5,157.46 and a 200-day moving average of $5,374.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.23.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The business had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $83.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 40 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,000.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 960 shares in the company, valued at $4,800,000. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,414.53, for a total value of $3,091,696.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,010 shares in the company, valued at $113,759,275.30. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,324 shares of company stock valued at $17,193,557. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Mizuho set a $6,000.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America upgraded Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6,000.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Booking from $6,450.00 to $6,630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Seaport Global Securities increased their target price on shares of Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6,179.42.

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.