Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Purchased by SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd.

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. boosted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3,241.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,775 shares during the quarter. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BLB&B Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 52 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Equity Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Equity Wealth Partners LLC now owns 101 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Booking by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,434,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $213.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $160.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $231.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $183.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $55.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Truist Financial set a $242.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% 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. Insiders have sold 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

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.