Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 0.9% during the first quarter, owning approximately $120.6 million worth of shares.
• Booking Holdings reported earnings of $55.40 per share, surpassing analyst expectations of $50.32, and saw revenue of $6.80 billion, exceeding estimates of $6.54 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60, with a dividend yield of 0.7%, payable to stockholders on September 30th.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,169 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.08% of Booking worth $120,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,675,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 86.1% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 1,822 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,052,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $50,236,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $6,200.00 target price (up previously from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $5,750.00 price target (up previously from $5,077.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $6,000.00 price target (up previously from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,781.04.

Booking Stock Down 2.1%

BKNG traded down $117.77 on Friday, reaching $5,386.29. The company had a trading volume of 199,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,527. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.57 billion, a PE ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5,568.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $5,077.69.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $41.90 earnings per share. Booking's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Company 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.