Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 721 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $28,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Garner Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the third quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 258 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 26.9% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 184 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 1.9% in the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Booking by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Booking by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,790,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $5,177.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4,482.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $4,041.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.36 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,079.50 and a one year high of $5,216.00.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, October 7th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,650.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,400.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,785.00.

About Booking

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.