Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Invests $34.14 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 187,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,142,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.64. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $226.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BKNG. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.45.

Booking 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.