Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,643.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 527,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 508,197 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $94,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $51,396,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Booking by 1,663.9% in the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,071 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $210,352,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Booking by 862.0% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,890,000 after purchasing an additional 195,411 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays set a $210.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $266.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $236.00 price objective (up from $225.00) 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 assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $212.06 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $231.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $184.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.04.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

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

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.