Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 110,641 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,421.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 110,641 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $21,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in Booking by 191,965.8% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Booking by 1,497.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Booking by 66,209.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 659,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,600,000 after acquiring an additional 658,788 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Booking by 2,548.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 649,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,785,000 after acquiring an additional 625,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $3,271,041,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $213.34 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $183.08 and a 200-day moving average of $177.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $55.40 EPS. Research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,100,500. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Argus lifted their price objective on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays set a $210.00 target price on Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 target price (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.

Booking Company 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.