Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Booking were worth $22,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ted Buchan & Co raised its position in shares of Booking by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 822 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,082,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Katamaran Capital LLP purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,335,000. Aviva PLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 23,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,317,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Booking by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,284.02 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The company has a market capitalization of $140.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,757.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4,750.17.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 price target (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,374.90.

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.