OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Acquires Shares of 178,455 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 178,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,808,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,646,302,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $1,691,186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $1,370,455,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in Booking by 191,965.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $472,723,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. Evercore set a $245.00 target price on Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Gordon Haskett raised their price target on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,050 shares of company stock valued at $26,341,680. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $209.62 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $231.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Booking Company 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.