Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $23.89 Million Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 128 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $23,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at $401,371,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its position in shares of Booking by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,699,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Booking by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $113,827,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its position in Booking by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 18,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,234,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its stake in Booking by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 13,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,306,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $3,802.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $127.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,772.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,698.81. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $37.62 EPS. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.03 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Booking 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.