Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases Shares of 2,652,172 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,652,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $472,723,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BKNG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth about $1,370,455,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in Booking by 191,965.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Booking by 1,497.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Booking by 66,209.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 659,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,600,000 after acquiring an additional 658,788 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Booking by 2,548.6% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 649,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,785,000 after acquiring an additional 625,076 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $204.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $153.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.85. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $231.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $244.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays set a $210.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

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.