Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Grows Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 34.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $5,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,954,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,718,390,000 after acquiring an additional 12,456 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 514,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,865,949,000 after purchasing an additional 21,969 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,742,160,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 376,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,336,085,000 after purchasing an additional 15,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Booking by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 358,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,421,069,000 after purchasing an additional 10,889 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $3,932.59 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3,767.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,707.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $37.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BKNG shares. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Booking in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $3,590.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

About Booking

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.