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

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $18,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $1,068,137,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,040 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Booking by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 295,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,303,000 after purchasing an additional 112,831 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 217,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $510,828,000 after purchasing an additional 5,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd grew its holdings in Booking by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 149,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $462,290,000 after buying an additional 4,048 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,723.41.

Booking Trading Down 0.7 %

BKNG opened at $3,443.91 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,586.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,364.25. The company has a market capitalization of $117.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,456.93 and a 12-month high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $24.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.